


Lightning in a Bottle

by mi_samo



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst?, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Side Ships, Socialites - Freeform, cursing, i'm bad at tags sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:22:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 78,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25802818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mi_samo/pseuds/mi_samo
Summary: Nayeon just wants a break from the glitz and glamour of being the daughter of one of the most influential socialites in Seoul. Mina, on the other hand, just wants to spend her summer vacation doing the things she likes such as going to the beach, surfing, and just playing video games.She just wants to take a break from it all, and so she meets her. Her who takes it all in until it fills the bottle she’s holding. Her who opens it and gets struck so hard. Her who has got it bad and who, now, won’t let go.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina
Comments: 154
Kudos: 433





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing and it's honestly so therapeutic especially with what's going on in the world right now. 
> 
> And I had fun watching WIAD!!! We finally got that Love Foolish stage hehe
> 
> Anyway, I've been in a minayeon drought hence the birth of this story. This is unbeta-d so I would like to apologize in advance if there are any mistakes.

They reach the basement parking and her makeup artist adds a few touches on her lips and her hairstylist fixes her long hair. 

From where she’s sitting in the car, she can perfectly see the flashing lights of the photographers on the red carpet.

_I wonder who’s the one on the carpet._

The flashing lights go off like a frenzy and she sees a few of her friends walk down the carpet to head inside the venue. Soon enough, it’s her turn. The moment she steps foot on the carpet, she hears countless people calling for her— left, right, everywhere.

“Im Nayeon! To your left!”

“Nayeon, smile for me in the middle!”

“You look so pretty, Nayeon!”

She doesn’t know where to look so she does what she’s told: smile and wave for the cameras. 

Yes, this is the every day (almost) life of the daughter of one of the most influential socialites in Seoul. 

She suddenly feels tired of the flashing lights in front of her and heads towards the entrance of the venue.

Her secretary unlocks her tablet and tells Nayeon her business for the night. Of course, that will include talking to her peers and other high-level officials. That is always included in a socialite's to-do list.

“Nayeon, don’t forget to talk to Park Jihyo. Your mother would like you to settle the issue last week.”

She heavily sighs, “Why am I not surprised that she’s going to ask me to fix this? It’s their mess, not mine. You know I don’t like doing this to a friend, Jeongyeon.”

“I know and Jihyo’s my friend too. I’m sure her parents asked her to do the same thing.”

Park Jihyo is one of Nayeon’s closest friends. A few of her trusted friends to be exact. They both knew each other since diaper days. 

The Ims and Parks are allies since who knows when with the Parks leading in the shipping industry and the former leading in electronics.

Jeongyeon, on the other hand, is someone who the Ims took in after her dad, who happens to be the first managers of the Ims, died in a rapid-fire chain destroying numerous businesses of different companies some years ago. 

This is their way of repaying her father for the loyalty and services he has given all those years to them. In return, they took her in. They clothed her and sheltered her and her remaining family members. Jeongyeon may forever be indebted to them but they are not complaining. The Ims treat them well after all. Like family.

The sound of heels clicking can be heard from behind Nayeon and a tap on her shoulder makes her turn. “Im Nayeon, it’s a pleasure to see you here.”

“Please skip all formalities and give me a hug, Park Jihyo.” Nayeon pulls her for a tight hug. “How long has it been? 3 years?”

“Yeah, somewhat like that.” Jihyo pulls away, “And you, Jeongyeon! You owe me a bowl of ramen.” She grabs the girl's tablet and pulls her for a hug too.

The trio’s mini reunion has gotten attention from the press inside the venue and flashing lights soon surround them. 

Jeongyeon pulls from the two girls and stands beside Nayeon’s bodyguard. Nayeon and Jihyo know it’s their cue to act in front of the cameras. 

After last week’s issue that spread throughout the media, the two socialites know that they need to act friendly for the cameras to capture. This will definitely strike out that issue.

“Nayeonie, before I forget, I’m afraid we’ll get to see each other after a few years again. So with that, I want you to meet my special someone.” Jihyo smiles slyly.

Nayeon claps a little at the info, “Oh, this is gold. The Park Jihyo is already taken and I get to meet who that lucky person is.”

The two start walking near the bar where a tall girl is seen talking to Mr. Lee, one of the Ims’ former business partners.

“Mr. Lee? Could you excuse us for a second?”

“Hello, Ms. Park, Ms. Im. Sure, she is all yours.” He bows and turns his heel to converse with the other guests.

“Tzuyu-yah, I want you to meet my very good friend here.” Tzuyu looks to the friend Jihyo is pointing at and bows.

“Wow, this girl knows how to respect.” Nayeon stifles a laugh and grabs the girl’s hand to shake. “I’m Im Nayeon, your girlfriend’s very good friend.”

The tall girl’s eyes widen in shock and send Jihyo glares. As expected of Park Jihyo, she laughs it off and instead, puts her arm around the girl’s waist to calm her. “Why Tzuyu? Are we not official yet?”, she teases.

“We are. But you just don’t go around talking about it in an event like this.” She pouts and sighs. “Anyway, I’m pleased to meet you Im Nayeon. I’m Chou Tzuyu.”

Nayeon looks a bit taken aback. _Jihyo got lucky with this one._

“Chou? As in Chou Medical Group?” Tzuyu nods.

They grab some drinks and continue catching up on lost time with Nayeon and Jihyo telling anecdotes of the past and whining at how tiring being daughters of socialites is. 

They search for a vacant table and sit together with a few other socialite friends of theirs. The group continues on discussing their family businesses, their college lives, and their plans for the upcoming summer break.

Hearing her peers’ plans for the summer makes Nayeon think and plan out her own vacation. She visualizes herself on the beach, chilling, getting a good amount of tan, and just basically not thinking of anything her family wants her to do.

“What about you, Nayeon? What’s your plan this break?” The question brings her mind back to the table.

She shrugs, “I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll just go to Jeju and be one with nature. I need a break from people and my name.” The group laughs as if she just told the biggest joke they’ve ever heard that night. Maybe it was a joke. If that vacation does happen, it’s too good to be true.

* * *

On the other side of Seoul, a girl is seen wiping a few mugs and saucers before locking up the coffee shop where she works in.

“Mina, just lock up once you’re done. I need to go to the hospital. My wife’s expecting in a few hours.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Park. And congrats on the baby!”

“Thank you, Mina. Enjoy Jeju alright? And stay safe. I want my favorite barista back in one piece.” Mina laughs as she watches her boss leave the shop.

She finishes wiping the remaining mugs, turns off the lights, and locks up.

Walking along the street, she smiles. She definitely can’t wait for summer break.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to post this right after uploading the first chapter but namo went live lmao

The day is quite hot with the sun shining over the city. Yet, here Mina is sporting a hoodie over her head.

She’s being tugged along by her best friend, Sana. She and her friends are planning to spend their summer break in Jeju while Mina plans to stay for around two weeks or more while her companions plan to stay for just a week.

“Mina, you have sunscreen with you right?”

“Dahyun-ah! Don’t tell me you forgot ours?!”, Sana raises her voice.

“I told you to put it inside your luggage the other day!” Dahyun counters.

“Lovebirds, please tone it down. My head’s still hurting so please, do it in your room later.” She smirks, giving the couple a knowing look.

“Oh, we’ll definitely do it later in our room.” Dahyun grins and snuggles her face on her girlfriend's neck. Sana laughs as she watches her best friend’s disgusted face.

“Okay, I’ll be sleeping now. Wake me up when it's boarding time.” Mina grabs her penguin pillow and wraps it around her neck.   
_  
I can’t wait to get to the island._

Sana and Mina have been best friends since high school, back when they were still in Japan.

Right after graduating, the two transferred to Seoul for college to which both of their parents have supported.

In their sophomore year, Sana met Dahyun through her and the two have been inseparable since then.

Mina doesn’t really care if both of her friends show too much affection in public. She actually finds them pretty cute, with how Sana is totally whipped for Dahyun and how Dahyun treats her best friend really well, much like a princess. 

_She deserves it after everything she’s gone through with her family. The fight we both had with them was definitely worth it._

The final boarding announcement for their flight has been made and the three friends make their way to their designated boarding gate.

They’ll be meeting the rest of their friends there. They flew a few days ahead and chose to skip the last days of school. This is something Mina will most likely not do. She cares about school and attendance too much. Something her parents taught her as a kid.

If you miss a school day, you get a good long scolding about how skipping school can affect your education and performance—how typical Asian parents think. Mina thinks that skipping school has an upside and a downside depending on one's reasons. With her friends, she knows it's good. They didn't really do anything important in those days, just a few announcements about the break and upcoming curriculums of their respective programs. So she's confident to say that they really did not miss much.

They reach their seats with Dahyun by the window, Sana in the middle, and Mina on the aisle.

Sana sighs in relief once she hears the click of her seatbelt, “We’re finally getting a break. We deserve this right, Minari?”

She gives her best friend a look of assurance and nods, “Of course, Sana. The past few months were a pain but we’re here now and they finally understood why we did what we did.”

Sana smiles, “Yeah, that’s something I’m happy of. We can finally pursue what we both want to do and not marry each other. That’d be really weird.”

“Totally! Marrying you is incest, please.” Mina responds, resting her head on her seat. “Now, let’s relax and think of the fun we’ll be having in the coming days.”

* * *

After a few hours, the three of them finally arrived in the lobby of the hotel they’ll be staying at. Mina grabs her key and luggage.

“Okay, bye lovebirds. See you all in a few hours. I need to catch on some sleep before going wild tonight.”

The couple watches their friend leave before making their way to their room.

Mina immediately slams her body on the soft bed as soon as she gets to her room.

Before closing her eyes, she remembers to check out the place first. She needs to tattoo the wonderful view in her head first for good dreams.

She opens the balcony and sees the beach right in front. 

_I definitely picked the right room._ _Nothing can go wrong with this._

She sits on the lounge chair and closes her eyes, clearing her head from all worries and just thinks of the view she has. And in just a few minutes, she’s knocked into sleep.

The ringing of her phone wakes her. She opens her eyes and sees that the sun is beginning to set at the end of the sea.

Beads of sweat form on her forehead and she wipes it off with the sleeve of her hoodie.

 _Oh shit, I forgot to remove this damn hoodie._

She grabs her phone and answers, “Hey, sorry I fell asleep.”

“Meet us at the hotel restaurant ASAP!” Sana yells on the other line. She can hear different voices in the background. Some are laughing really loud while others just chit chat. All of her friends are probably there.

Mina hurries to open her luggage and grabs the first dress she sees. She retouches her makeup, grabs a purse, switches into a pair of sandals, and heads out.

Upon exiting the elevator, she hears a girl’s laugh. A laugh all too familiar to her. She jogs and hugs the laughing girl from behind.

“Momoring! I missed you so much!”

The other girl removes the arms entangling her to clearly see who holds her captive. Her mouth forms a small ‘o’ in shock and embraces the girl.

“Mina! Wow, you look good!”

“I see my girlfriend and former crush are having a splendid time.”

A third voice from behind them speaks. It’s Chaeyoung, Momo’s girlfriend and yes, this girl _had_ a crush on Mina. She politely rejected the advances of the girl when they were in their freshmen year and has moved on to one of her closest friends from Japan.

“Yah, come here Chaengie! I missed you too of course.” She grabs the girl’s arm and ruffles her hair instead as Momo’s grip on her tightens.

Momo and Chaeyoung are her friends who skipped the last few days of school to start their summer vacation earlier than the others. This is because Momo will be flying out to Japan for the rest of the break after their Jeju trip so as much as possible, Chaeyoung is willing to spend every waking damn minute with her girl.

“So what’s the plan tonight, Sana?” Momo asks, still not letting go of Mina from her embrace.

Sana takes out her phone and checks their itinerary for tonight. It says “ **dinner > club > party > get drunk > sleep**”.

“According to my phone, we need to have dinner first and I found the perfect place for us. Plus, I’ve been craving for barbecue so you all have no choice but to follow me.” She sticks her tongue out to them.

Chaeyoung whines, “Okay, what about after dinner then?”

“For after dinner, I already have that one planned out. I found a dark place where we can dance and not give a fuck about anything.” Dahyun explains while raising both eyebrows. Sana clings onto her for being too cute and the couple leads the way to the parking lot, earning confused looks from their friends.

“Dahyun, you rented a car?!”

“Yeah. And since I’m also the only one with a license among all of us, I will not be drinking tonight. Just so we're clear.”

“That’s just great. Now we know Sana’s gonna get drunk even more.” Mina rolls her eyes, teasing her best friend.

Sana slaps her shoulder, “Hey! We already got drunk last night so obviously, I won’t be drinking that much tonight. Maybe it’s you, Mina, who will get smashed again tonight?” She hums.

“That depends if I’m in the mood to have fun”, giving her best friend a smirk.

Mina couldn't ask for a better company. They may be the noisiest bunch and she may be fifth wheeling but she loves them. The couples never made her feel left out. In fact, they individually treat her more like she’s the girlfriend instead of their actual partners because of the affection they each shower her with.

Dinner passed by quickly. They are too excited to party in an unknown place and they can’t wait to set Mina up.

On a date? Sure, if their schedule permits. On a dance showdown in the club? A big yes! Mina, after all, is one of the best dancers they have ever known, and seeing her not show off her skills on the dance floor would be such a waste. The thrill of anonymity in this island is what fuels them to be somewhat reckless, to say the least.

They arrive at the club and they see two familiar faces from school. None other than Jennie and Lisa. The couple wave and walk up to the group.

“Hey guys! When did you get here?”

“They arrived around noon while my girl and I got here a few days ago.” Chaeyoung explains.

Lisa nods, “Cool, do you already have a table inside? Jennie and I were able to reserve one. Thought you could share it with us.”

“I called a while ago and we’re unfortunately waitlisted so yeah, we’ll be more than glad to join you guys. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun.” Dahyun answers on behalf of the group.

Jennie links her arm on Lisa’s, “Great! Let’s all go in.”

After passing by the black curtains, they are greeted with colorful strobe lights and loud dance music playing in the background. The club’s quite packed with tourists and locals dancing their hearts out to have a good night.

They soon reach a pub table beside the wall near the bar.

“What are you girls planning on drinking tonight? Maybe we could order a bottle and take shots from there?” Lisa yells so she can be heard over the loud music.

“I think a bottle of tequila would be nice and then some cocktails after? What do you think?” Momo turns her head towards her friends and they all nod in agreement.

“Sounds great! I’ll be right back.” Lisa says, removing her arm on Jennie’s waist and walks towards the bar.

Mina closes her eyes and absorbs the music and the energy of the people around her. She can’t wait to let loose and get drunk (again). She starts swaying sideways and raises her arms to match the beat of the music. The sound of shot glasses clinking wakes her from her trance. 

_Time to get drunk._

Sana leads by filling in the shot glasses of everyone.

“Let’s get drunk!”

The girls raise their glasses and quickly downs the alcohol. One by one, they all feel the alcohol hitting them and they start dancing together. Fun moments like this should be captured so Chaeyoung brings out her disposable film camera to take random pictures of her borderline drunk friends.

 ***FLASH** *

Sana wraps her arms on Dahyun’s neck and they both smile.

***FLASH***

Mina shoots a gun towards the camera with a wink.

***FLASH***

Jennie holds her shot glass and wraps her free arm on Lisa’s shoulders.

“Chaeyoung-ie, let me take your pictures!” Mina insists, grabbing Chaeyoung’s camera and motions for her to stand in between Momo and Dahyun.

***FLASH***

Both Momo and Dahyun kiss Chaeyoung’s cheeks.

“Mina, move a little more at the back. Include us in the photo too!” Her best friend demands.

She takes a few steps back and unknowingly steps on someone’s foot.

The girl whines in pain and pushes her off a little.

Mina turns her head and bows to apologize. It was too dark and the club’s flashing lights make it difficult for her to clearly see the girl’s face. All she saw was someone with long black hair walking away.

“Okay 1, 2, 3…” 

***FLASH***

Since Dahyun’s the only one sober for the night, she has witnessed how every single one of her friends has become a drunken mess.

Sana has been clinging onto her the entire night ever since a cute girl pulled her onto the dance floor, Momo and Chaeyoung pair up for a game of beer pong against Jennie and Lisa, while Mina is just busy dancing on her own on the side. Each of them in their own little world and she's glad everyone's having fun so she decides to reciprocate the clinginess of her girlfriend by dancing with her.

The next song that plays switches the mood of the entire club to a calmer one. People are still dancing but they’re not as pumped as the previous one. Just perfect for them to take a bit of a break.

Some return to their couches and tables to freshen up with some drinks. Others still stay on the dance floor and sway to the sound of the music.

Mina takes a sip from her drink and observes the people around her.

Couples can be seen snuggling each other on the dance floor and others take shot after shot until their hearts’ content.

She comes across a pair of eyes from the girl across the room— strong and inviting, kind of hypnotizing her to come to her. She has no idea why her feet began walking across the dance floor but she likes the excitement she’scurrently feeling. Here's to her letting loose.

“Hey.”

The girl slowly sips her drink, eyes not leaving Mina’s, and smirks.

“Hi.”

“Are you here alone?”, she confidently asks.

The girl hums in response.

Mina gives the girl a tight-lipped smile and raises her eyebrows.

“Tonight must be my lucky night then.” She says coolly while resting her elbow on the table, standing closer to the girl.

“Why is this your lucky night?”

“I spotted a pretty girl like you on my first night here.”

“Correction. I spotted _you_ first.” The girl says pushing herself off the wall, now standing a few inches away from Mina’s face.

Mina lets out a breath because of how the girl smoothly responded to her. 

_Okay, it is on._

“Where’s your hotel? Maybe I can, you know…”, she whispers, quirking her eyebrows.

“Oh, that’s cute. I’m staying at the Shilla. Mayb—“

“That’s where I’m staying too!” Mina says, leaning in closer. “Maybe you need a ride home?”

The girl laughs and tilts her head to whisper in Mina’s ear, her lips slightly brushing her earlobe, “Why would you think I need a ride?”

Mina’s brain short circuits for a minute and she slightly feels hot. She breathes heavily and swallows.

After milliseconds of panicking, she gets a hold of herself and answers, “We’re staying in the same hotel. You’re pretty and I’m drunk and I want to see more of that beautiful face of yours.”

As if the gods above are sabotaging her to get this girl, Dahyun calls her and tells her that it’s time to go back to the hotel.

She turns her head and mouths “five more minutes” to her friend and she nods. She looks back once again to the girl she is openly flirting with.

“I guess that’s my cue. The offer still stands. Don’t worry, my friends and I don’t bite.” She extends her hand for the girl to take and she does without hesitation.

On the way out, the girl links her arm in Mina’s, making her blush. She leans closer and whispers, “I’m Nayeon, by the way.”

_Cute name, cute girl._

“I’m Mina.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you on the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Several loud knocks wake the sleeping girl. She hurriedly wears her slippers and walks to the door, doesn’t even bother to check who it is in the peephole.

Mina opens the door and Sana yells barging in, “Mina! What the hell! Take a shower and get dressed. The tour starts in 40 minutes!”

Sleep leaves her body and runs to the bathroom, completely forgetting to lock the door.

Her best friend carelessly walks in the bathroom and sits on the toilet and asks, “Did anything happen between you and Nayeon? I was drunk and I sat in front and I swear, I felt the tension between the two of you. Care to explain?”

She shampoos her hair, trying to remember the things that transpired the night before.

**Last night…** ****

**“Mina, if we get caught, you are bailing me out!” Dahyun says through gritted teeth.**

**She has no idea how she managed to convince her drunk friends to let her bring another girl with them back to the hotel. Literally, bring her back with them as in hitching a ride.**

**Sana’s zoned out in the front seat while Momo and Chaeyoung are cuddled and scattered on the backseat, leaving little space for Nayeon and Mina to sit on.**

**Mina nervously chuckles and turns to their guest, “This was not what I was picturing a while ago so I’m sorry if we’re all crumpled here.”**

**“It’s okay. I actually owe you and your friends for this ride back.” She moves a bit in her seat as if she’s uncomfortable with the very little space her bottom is occupying to which Mina notices.**

******“I don’t know if it’s too much but you can sit on my lap if you’re feeling a bit uncomfortable. We’re like ten to fifteen minutes away.” She offers, patting her hands on her lap.** ****

**Nayeon gives her a worried look, “Are you sure? I might be a bit heavy.”** ****

**She laughs, “Come on, it’s okay.”** ****

**Mina guides Nayeon by the hips and slowly pulls her down to her lap. “If you want to feel more comfortable, you can lean on me.” She whispers but loud enough for Dahyun to hear, making her choke a laughter.** ****

**“Now, aren’t you a smooth talker?” Nayeon smirks and leans her back to Mina’s front with her head resting on the girl’s shoulder. “You’re right, this is more comfortable. I might just fall asleep.”** ****

**Mina knows she's being teased and she’s all in for this. Thanks to all the alcohol she drank tonight, her confidence and bravery shot up another level, and wraps her arms around Nayeon’s waist. She’s quite surprised that the girl just lets her.** ****

**Nayeon turns her head and snuggles her face on Mina’s neck.** **_This girl is indeed correct. I’m pretty and she’s drunk,_ she thinks.**

**The action causes Mina to squirm a bit in her seat and her pulse begin to speed.  
**

**She’s flirted with other people before but this one just hits differently. She’s totally enamored of this girl.  
**

**On top of that, Dahyun also took a lot of detours which made them actually fall asleep for a bit. She wonders if her friend is doing it on purpose so that she can spend more time with the girl snuggled in her neck.** ****

**Dahyun wakes them with just a honk of the car’s horn and they all groan exiting the car.** ****

**Nayeon gets off and bows at the girls’ kindness for letting her ride with them.  
**

**Mina chases after her and tells her friends to have a good night. She sprints to the elevator the girl is in and makes it in time before the doors close on her.** ****

**Nayeon looks at her with wide eyes, “What are you doing here?!” She takes a stance using her purse as a weapon, thinking Mina might do something to her.** ****

**“Wait! I just wanna walk you back to your room.” She explains, breathing in between the words. “I’m not gonna do anything.” She catches her breath and stands properly across the girl. “How long will you be here in Jeju?”** ****

**The girl squints her eyes to see if the girl poses a threat to her. Seems like she doesn’t. “I’ll be here for like 3 weeks. Why?”** ****

**Mina eye smiles at the info, “Great! Me too. I’ll see you around then.”** ****

**The elevator stops and Mina gets off.  
**

**Nayeon didn’t even notice that the girl pushed the button of her own floor when she entered due to being too surprised.  
**

**“Good night, Nayeon.”** ****

“Okay, nothing happened between me and her!” Mina slightly yells to get her point across her best friend. “I just asked how long she’ll be staying in Jeju and I think I just found the perfect company when you guys leave for Seoul.”

Sana smirks at her, “Bring her back to Seoul with you okay?”

“What are you trying to imply here?”

“Nothing, Minari. Now, come on. Momo’s got your breakfast.” Sana exits her room and she follows, shaking her head at what her best friend just told her.

 _Bring her back to Seoul? I don’t know about that but she’s cute,_ she smiles to herself.

* * *

Mina and Sana rush to the lobby and see their friends in the group that’s gathered in the middle. They made it right on time just as the tour guide is announcing that the coaster they will be using for the tour is about to pull up on the hotel’s driveway.

The moment they step in, Mina sees a pretty girl sitting alone near the end of the vehicle. She grabs her breakfast from Momo and heads to the lone girl. She sits and smiles at the girl. “Good morning!”, greeting her with a gummy smile.

The girl looks up in shock, “Why are you here?!” _This girl seems to be always around._

Mina shakes her head in astonishment, “I’m here for the tour, of course.”

“Very funny, Mina. Go and sit with your friends.” Nayeon demands and faces the window.

“The people I’m with are all coupled up. Maybe you forgot but I’m fifth wheeling. I’ll be silent the entire ride, I can assure you.”

“You better or else.”

“Or else what?”

Nayeon groans and rolls her eyes. She drinks her latte to calm her mood instead. _This is gonna be a long ass day._

On the way to their first stop, Mina munches on her breakfast which Momo saved. It’s a clubhouse sandwich cut in half.

Every bite feels like heaven for her and the moment she looks at the food, she suddenly wants to share it with the person next to her.

She looks at Nayeon who’s too busy scrolling through her phone with her airpods plugged in her ears.

Mina knows she told Nayeon that she’ll be quiet the entire ride but she doesn’t want to be rude and just continue eating without even asking her if she wants any.

“Nayeon, do you want to have a bite of my sandwich?”

Ignored, she waves her hand in front of the girl to get her attention and it worked. She totally got the attention of the now irritated girl.

“What do you want?”

Mina offers her sandwich with a hum.

Nayeon was about to decline but the tasty bacon is too precious and calling for her so she switches her glares to puppy eyes.

Mina unknowingly hands the sandwich to her like she’s been hypnotized and ends up looking at her empty hand and back again to the girl devouring the remaining of her breakfast.

 _That’s weird… I’m feeling weird… She just gave me those puppy eyes?! And I fell for it?! Why am I so whipped for pretty girls?,_ she thinks while resting her head on the chair.

Said pretty girl’s mood suddenly changes and offers Mina her latte drink.

She hasn’t had any caffeine yet and a sip from her latte may be what she needs to get through the day.

The coaster stops and everyone departs for the tour. Their first stop is the Jeju Folk Village Museum.

The Japanese trio a.k.a. Momo, Sana, and Mina stay behind the group because of taking pictures with almost everything traditional they see. They adore and respect Korean culture so much.

“You guys go ahead! Let me just take a few pictures of the field over there.” Mina tells her friends as she stays behind.

She grabs her film camera and pans it over the field of flowers. She stops when she sees someone familiar trying her best to take a selfie on the field behind her.

***CLICK***

She walks closer to the girl.

 ***CLICK*** ****

She lowers her camera and smiles at her.

It feels like everything is in slow motion. She observes the girl smiling for the camera until her eyes disappear, then laughs at the results she got. _Cute._ They make eye contact.

If everything prior that was already in slow motion, then everything now is much slower.

Nayeon smiles at her and sticks her tongue out.

“Can you spot the prettiest flower out there?” Nayeon asks and everything is back to normal once again.

Mina squints her eyes and checks the field. She can’t seem to find the prettiest flower and looks back at Nayeon with a victorious look for cracking the question.

“I already found it.”

Nayeon looks at her surprisingly, “Really?! You found it?”

“Yeah, it was actually not that hard to miss. The flower is so pretty you’d actually notice it at first glance.”

“Amazing… I mean, good for you. You found it.” She nods defeatedly and slowly walks back to the group ahead of them.

Mina follows, “You want to know where it is?” to which Nayeon responds with a hum. “It’s here!”

Nayeon turns her head and asks, “Where? I can’t— oh.” She’s surprised to see Mina pointing a finger at her.

_Wait, she got it. She knows where I was getting at._

She laughs loudly and starts walking again. She pulls her sun hat lower to hide the blush forming on her cheeks.

“Wait for me!” Mina rushes to walk side by side with her.

The group arrives at the restaurant for lunch and when Mina gets there, she sees her friends already sat down ordering food. “Nayeon? Do you want to have lunch with us?”

“It’s okay, Mina. I’ll just walk around a bit more to check out the place.” 

She waves and watches the girl exit and munch on pineapples she grabbed from her bag.

Her attention’s caught by her friends calling her to sit and order food.

Chaeyoung hands her a menu and Sana looks at her with a grin. “So… where’s your girlfriend going?”

She looks at Sana annoyingly and turns her attention back to the server and orders.

“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s pretty but she’s not my girlfriend.”

Dahyun crumples a piece of tissue into a ball and throws it at her, “Oh you are so whipped don’t even deny it”.

This agonizing interrogation from her friends is embarrassing the shit out of her so she just ignores the questions and continues eating her food while laughing at the moments she missed out when she stayed behind during the tour.

Once lunch is over, they continue the tour and finish the first stop with a tour group picture at the entrance of the museum.

Before boarding, Mina buys a tray of cheese kimbap to munch on the coaster if she ever feels hungry again.

A beautiful girl like her has a huge appetite after all. Yes, she knows she is that beautiful but she doesn’t show it off.

That is one of the few traits of Mina which her friends adore— her humility.

Mina sits and sees that the girl beside her is already fast asleep. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Mina bows to apologize.

“It’s okay, I really didn’t get that much sleep last night.”

“Is that so? You can rest your head on my shoulder if you want. I don’t mind.”

Nayeon laughs at the suggestion, “You’re funny, Mina. Ha-ha.”

_Was that funny? Hmm… I think that didn’t sound like a joke in my head but okay._

The tour is back in motion again and they head to their last stop for the day: the tangerine farm.

Nayeon feels excited the most about this. She loves fruits and fruit picking is something she is definitely most interested in trying.

It may be exhausting but she thinks it’s worth it if you get to eat the ones you picked in the end.

She’s on her way to grab a basket when a group of girls rush past her to grab their own. It‘s Mina’s friends, well, including Mina. She watches them run to the farm to cut and grab tangerines quickly filling each of their baskets.

_They look like they’re playing a game. Seems fun._

She hears a short girl yell that they have only 20 seconds left.

Nayeon makes her way to the farm and starts cutting tangerines of her own. She examines the fruit carefully to know if what she’s grabbing is sweet and right for her taste buds. She walks past a row and sees the group of friends counting the tangerines in their baskets one by one with Mina as the last person to count. She walks behind the girl and whispers, “I’m sneaking in a few.”

It’s only been a day since Mina knew Nayeon but her voice is so distinct that she knows it was her who whispered, willing to help her cheat a win in this little game with her friends.

The girl sneaks around 5 tangerines in her basket. Unfortunately, Mina still ended up losing. Cheaters never really win but that cheat is a win for her… or maybe Nayeon?

The group finished tangerine picking and everyone’s almost done paying for their own baskets.

While waiting, the others take pictures with the beautiful view in front of them. Nayeon’s in line waiting to pay for hers. Her basket feels lighter now because she gave some of her fruits to help Mina win the game. She wasn’t part of it but she had fun even if she was just a bystander.

“Thanks for helping me out on the game a while ago. I still didn’t win so in return, I want to give you some of my tangerines.” Mina says from behind. She’s already paid for hers and was just waiting for Nayeon.

Nayeon looks over her shoulder and smirks, “I guess the ones I gave weren’t enough to help you win huh?”

“Oh believe me, that was a win for me.”

“How so?”

“I won’t tell you.” Mina laughs.

 _This girl is really weird and gosh, her laugh is cute. And oh, those are moles? Cute,_ Nayeon thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got some flirting again from the tragic ship. Who knows what will happen next to the two.
> 
> Let me know what you think so far! Use the hashtag #MinayeonLightning if ever you tweet about it. 
> 
> Again, this is my first time writing a fic lol but thank you for still reading!


	4. Chapter 4

The ride back to the hotel was silent. 

Some were snoring while others were munching on the tangerines they bought from the farm. 

Mina checks on her friends from the aisle and sees them fast asleep. She laughs upon seeing Dahyun holding a peeled tangerine, assuming she was about to eat it but fell asleep. She grabs the tangerine from the sleeping girl’s hand and eats it instead.

After a while, sleep slowly crept into her. 

According to the tour guide, they are still fifty minutes away from the hotel. Just enough time for her to rest her eyes. 

She leans her head on her seat and lets her tired eyes close on their own but the girl beside her seems to have a hard time sleeping. 

Nayeon’s head keeps on bobbing in front and she’s afraid the girl might hurt herself should this persist. 

What Mina does is she guides Nayeon’s head to rest on her shoulder and she succeeds in doing it without waking the girl up. Feeling contented, her eyes finally close to rest.

When Nayeon feels the vehicle stop, she opens her eyes. 

_That nap was a good one._

She feels refreshed and well-rested, and quite intrigued? She’s too embarrassed to look up and see whose shoulder she just slept on. Well, she knows who it is. She's just too afraid to confirm that it is Mina. 

Nayeon looks up and sees that the girl's sleeping peacefully with her mouth slightly open. She takes the time to appreciate the girl’s features. 

_She is cuter up-close._

Her eyes widen at the sudden thought. 

_Oh god, I sounded like a total creep._

She breathes through her nose and shakes her head.

She looks out the window and sees familiar signs and establishments which means they are almost at the hotel so she decides to poke fun at the sleeping girl. Literally poke her for fun. She lightly presses the moles on Mina’s face as if they’re buttons that would wake the girl up. Starting with the one on her cheek, down to the ones near her lips, up to her forehead, then lastly on her nose.

“Mina, time to wake up.” She whispers only a few inches from the girl’s face.

The smell of tangerines and light touches on her face reminds her of home so much. Mina smiles with her eyes closed envisioning her house back in Japan with her mom handing her a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and her dog, Ray, cuddling her. 

_Wait, this must be a dream. I'm in Jeju. I'm on a vacation._

She quickly opens her eyes in panic and the sight of Nayeon in her face greets her, causing her to shut them again. Mina breathes slowly through her nose to calm herself and she feels the girl beside her hold her laugh.

“If you don’t move away, I will kiss you.” Mina taunts.

She feels Nayeon move a bit closer to her face. 

_This girl is gonna be the death of me. Do I give in or…?_

“Mina, is that supposed to be a threat? Do it then.”

Feeling a bit provoked, Mina opens her eyes to see Nayeon with her lips puckered up. 

Mina hates this feeling. She hates how her competitiveness is naturally showing. She hates losing even over petty things such as this, let alone to a pretty girl. 

She quickly leans forward and steals a kiss. Mina pulls back and stares at the shocked girl’s face. Wide eyes stare right back at her and she smiles, “You told me to do it and so I did.” 

She gives her a hearty laugh, waking Sana, who is sitting right behind her, causing her to kick her seat. “You have really soft lips, Nayeon.”

If you would ask Nayeon her thoughts about strangers stealing kisses especially from her, she’d tell you that she would have slapped that person so hard her entire hand would make a mark on that person's face but here she is, frozen in place, and she didn’t do what she said she would have done. 

She walks to the hotel thinking about Mina and how she said that her lips are soft. She can’t help but blush at the thought.

On her way to the elevators, she hears someone call her name. She looks back and sees that it was one of Mina’s friends who called her. 

_How did this girl know my name?_

Nayeon walks up to the group and sees Mina on the other side of the hotel speaking on the phone. She bows politely to the group, “Hello! I'm Nayeon.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Momo, Mina’s friend. This is my girlfriend, Chaeyoung and these two here are Sana and Dahyun.”

A silver-haired girl raises her hand, “I’m Dahyun! This is my Sana-yah.” The girl Dahyun pointed at raised her hand for a handshake.

“So Nayeon, do you want to have dinner with us? We’ll be eating outside in front of the beach. Mina’s found us a restaurant.”

“Are you sure? That’s too kind of you but I don’t want to intrude.”

Chaeyoung speaks up, “Don’t worry about it. We don’t mind.”

“What’s this?” Mina asks as she returns to her friends. She looks so cool with her jacket on and her hands in her jacket pockets. Nayeon can’t deny that the vibe Mina is giving off is attracting her.

“Momo invited Nayeon for dinner with us. I know you won’t mind, Mina-yah.” Chaeyoung says, giving Mina a smug look.

Mina knows her friends are teasing her so she just rides along with them. “Of course, I don’t mind. I mean, she already sat on my lap and we already kissed so her joining us for dinner wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

Sana shoves Mina and shrieks, “You kissed?!”

“Correction! She kissed me!” Nayeon argues.

“Which she told me to do!”, Mina rebuts.

Nayeon's mood changes from aggressive to playful and she thinks that teasing Mina right this second would be fun for her. 

“So you’re saying that you’re willing to do anything that I say?”

Her friends, all too shocked, look at Mina and wait for her counter-argument. But she stutters, “U-uhm, I uh, dinner’s waiting for us.”

Chaeyoung laughs loudly and claps at how her friend quickly folded on this girl. She leans to Momo and whispers, “Babe, I’ve never seen Mina this whipped.” 

Mina leads the way to the beachfront restaurant and her friends and Nayeon gasp seeing the array of delicious foods laid out on the table for them.

Momo rushes to the table in excitement, “Wah! Mina-yah, you got all of this for us?”

“Yup! Dinner’s on me since you all cleared your summer plans to be with me this week. I owe you girls.”

“Wow, Mina. This cost a lot. At least let me help you with the bill. I’m your guest after all.” Nayeon offers but Mina politely declines.

Sana chimes in, “As expected of Mina, she would decline. Money really isn’t a problem for her.” She laughs.

 _Oh, so Mina’s rich rich. Is she a part of THAT society too?_ Nayeon thinks, _or maybe Mina’s just really rich but not the socialite influential rich._

They spend the entire dinner getting to know each other. Nayeon learns that all four of them go to Konkuk University, Dahyun and Chaeyoung met in college, and that Sana, Momo, and Mina go way back since childhood.

“Are you in school now, Nayeon?”

Nayeon feels all eyes on her. She’s afraid that if she shares too much information, she might put herself in jeopardy. She decides to be vague but remains true to her answers.

“Yup, I go to SNU and I’m already in my junior year.”

The girls are all astonished at the trivia. 

Not everyone is privileged to get accepted in the country’s top university and since Nayeon got in, they all assumed that she’s very smart and rich.

“Whoa, we got a smart one here!” Sana exclaims.

Nayeon laughs, “I’m just a normal girl like all of you.” _A lie._

The night went on with mostly the girls sharing embarrassing and funny stories about their college lives, mostly about Mina; how she’s a homebody and an extreme gamer.

“Mina, once, didn’t sleep the entire night for a game. I went to her apartment to eat lunch while waiting for my next class. Then the next day after my 2 pm, I went again to her place to take a nap and I found her still wearing the same clothes and still playing that damn game.” Momo groans, remembering how her friend looked like that day. She looks at her unpleasantly.

Mina defends herself, “It wasn’t just a game! It was a tournament, okay? The winner gets multiple gems, armors, vehicles, and some merch.”

Nayeon laughs at that, trying to imagine the cute girl beside her in her pjs playing games all day long. 

_What a nerd. A cute one at that._

* * *

The friends are lucky to have booked a packaged tour that allows them to rest every other day. Their itinerary for tomorrow will surely be the most tiring one for sure so the group of girls decide to sleep in the entire day to recharge.

It was around noon when Mina woke up. 

She checks her phone and sees a message from Sana saying that she and Dahyun went swimming on the beach. Another message came from her mom.

**[Mama, 1:08 pm]**

**_Mina-chan, how is your vacation going?_ **

**[Mina, 1:15 pm]**

**_Hi Mama! I’m having so much fun here in Jeju. How is everything there?_ **

**[Mama, 1:23 pm]**

**_We’re great here. Your Papa’s here grilling meat with Kai. Give us a call soon okay?_ **

**[Mina, 1:24 pm]**

**_I will, Ma. See you soon!_ **

Mina lies on her lounge chair, basking in the rays of the sun. She feels melancholic exchanging messages with her mom because it makes her miss Japan even more but moving is for the best. For her and Sana. There’s also a promise that she needs to fulfill and that’s what she needs to do.

At 6 pm, the girls agree to meet in the lobby to explore Jeju's night market. Mina wants to ask Nayeon to join them but she doesn’t know how to reach her. 

They flirted for two straight days and even kissed except she didn’t ask for the girl’s number. 

_Smart move, Mina._

Lucky for her, she sees the girl making her way back to the hotel. It appears that she just finished spending her time on the beach. She’s wearing a long sundress with flower clips on her hair. 

Mina approaches her, “Hey, do you want to come with us to the night market?”

Nayeon dusts off the excess sand on her slippers, “That sounds fun. I’m in!” 

With that confirmation, she just made Mina the happiest giving her a wide smile.

“The girls are on their way to the car in the parking lot. Let’s go?”

It’s almost dark and the sky’s a perfect shade of cotton candy pink. Nayeon feels that this vacation is slowly healing her. She also wonders how on earth they managed to fit themselves in the backseat without her sitting on Mina’s lap.

“Do you want to lean back to feel more comfortable?” Mina offers. She looks at her with so much care and she could just melt right on the spot. 

“Stop worrying so much. I’m good.”

Sana sees the interaction through the rear-view mirror and decides to tease the girl by mimicking their actions with Dahyun. 

“Dahyun-ah, do you want me to drive next so you’ll be more comfortable?”

Dahyun looks at her all confused. Sana shoots her a look and she suddenly gets the roleplay. 

“Yah, stop worrying so much. I can manage and I’m the only one here who has a license. Plus this car is registered under my name.”

Nayeon snorts at the pale girl’s bad acting. “That was so bad, Dahyun.”

She looks at the guest with hurt, “You are lucky Mina is whipped for you, or I would’ve dropped you off right this instant.”

Mina calls her out, “Dahyun-ah! You wouldn't.”

Dahyun makes a peace sign and salutes at her through the rear-view mirror. Mina just rolls her eyes at her friend's silliness.

They arrive at Dongmun Night Market and it sure is packed. Not one food stall has no line. Almost all benches, tables, and chairs are filled. Most of the people are already standing while eating their food.

“Okay, let’s meet in this spot in three hours.” Dahyun instructs.

Nayeon pulls Mina and rushes to the pork skewer stand. Mina blushes and feels honored that she actually chose her to be her company tonight. 

_Oh wait, it actually makes sense since the other four are actual couples._

To top it off, Nayeon decides to link her arm onto Mina’s as they wait in line to be served.

“Easy on the grip, I won’t go anywhere.” Mina jokes.

Nayeon’s shocked and says, “You’re really feeling yourself now huh? I’m holding onto you because I don’t want to get lost.”

Mina fishes her phone in her pocket and hands it to Nayeon. “Here. Put your number in so that if you ever get lost, I’ll go and find you.” She directs and Nayeon does as she’s told. 

Again, another win for Mina. She wasn’t trying to achieve anything tonight. She just wants Nayeon to feel safe because the grip on her arm is so tight as if she's afraid of something.

“Thanks, Mina.” She sighs in contentment, feeling more secured now. 

Growing up, Nayeon never really got to experience going out on her own. There's always a need for a secretary and a bodyguard with her because of her social status so you can't really blame her if she's afraid of getting lost in a city like Jeju. 

This is her first time to really be free on her own. She's like a free bird, a kid who needs a parent to look after her. She grabs two skewers and pays for it. She and Mina made an agreement prior that they take turns in paying for the food because they settled with sharing. That way, they can try out different food and drinks.

The clingy girls eat and walk around checking out different stalls. Nayeon ended up buying tea for Jihyo and tons of socks for Jeongyeon and her sisters. She also buys kimbap trays to store for the next days since she’ll be staying in for two more weeks in Jeju. Might as well stock up her room with some snacks. 

On the other hand, Mina stops over at a vintage shop and buys some shirts and hats. 

While waiting at the cashier, she notices that Nayeon’s having a hard time carrying all her goods. Once done paying, she walks back and grabs the bags from her hold.

“Hey, those are mine.” Nayeon says, trying to grab back her bags.

Mina grabs her hand and shows her that her hands are turning red from carrying the bags way too long. “You need to rest your hands, see?”

Momo spots them and Mina’s really not that surprised to see the couple look like they’ve gone to a carnival carrying a bunch of plushies. She also made Chaeyoung wear a mouse headband, adding more cuteness to her already cute size.

Mina points to the small girl, “Oh no, where’s security? There seems to be a lost child here.”

The girls laugh and the teased girl almost throws the pig plushie at her but Momo’s quick to stop her. Plushies are important to her and shouldn't just be thrown around like it's nothing. 

They all meet up for a last round of dessert and soon go back to the hotel.

Nayeon bids farewell to the girls when they reach the hotel lobby and excuses herself as she needs to take an important phone call. 

She quickly enters her room and takes out her iPad. She received a message from her mom saying that their family (more like a business) meeting is about to begin.

Family meetings are not to be missed in the Im household. 

She learned that the hard way when she was in high school. 

Jihyo invited her and Jeongyeon to play at her house. She had so much fun that she didn’t realize that she had been gone for 3 hours and that she’s already missed their weekly family meeting. 

As soon as she got home, her parents immediately pulled her to the living room to receive a good amount of scolding and yelling from them. 

_Being an Im is a curse,_ she thinks. 

They have a reputation to keep, unnecessary public appearances to be made, and the worst of it all is to act in front of people to be liked. 

_Why do we need validation from people we don't even like? Being in this family sucks._

After that incident, Nayeon swore to never miss a family meeting wherever she is.

“Hey, mom!” She greets waving at the screen in front of her.

_“Hi dear, how’s vacation?”_

“Vacation’s good. I’ve been resting well.”

_“Lovely, my dear. Your father won’t be here tonight. He has an important business to attend to and your sister is on her way from piano practice so this meeting will just be a quick one.”_

“So what do we need to discuss tonight, mom?” Nayeon asks. 

The moment she got to Jeju, she already felt relieved from all the business talks and that relief is wiped out the moment she picked up her mother’s call.

_“I just want to ask about the Park issue? Were you able to settle it with Jihyo?”_

She sighs, “Mom, Jihyo and I are good friends. Of course, our press pictures from the event are already proof that the issue has been closed.”

_Don’t ruin my vacation, mom._

_**“** That’s good to know. I have one more thing to ask. Once you get back, we want you to meet the son of Mr. Song. He’s _ _a good addition to whatever our plan is. At least the public sees that our eldest is still at the top of the social class aside from being the best in school, right?”_

_Great, they are setting me up again. Just what I need._

Nayeon taps her chin, pretending to think. “Hmm… I’ll think about it, mom. I’ll let you know before I get back.”

Her mom smiles, _“No pressure, my dear. I also forgot to mention that you might be going to Japan on your winter break to face a possible client. I want you to lead the partnership with them. It’s a good training ground for you before entering the family business."_

_No, I don’t want to enter the business. Never even wanted to in the first place._

“Sure, mom. How long will I be in Japan?”

_“Probably the entire break. You can bring some friends to the flat if you want to.”_

“Okay, mom. Anything else?” 

_Please say no. I want to sleep already._

_“I guess that’s about it. Enjoy your vacation and we’ll see you soon, okay? Love you!”_

“Love you too, mom. Bye!”

Nayeon slams shut her iPad and dives on the bed. The day started off really well and she can’t believe she’s ending it on a bad note. 

Her mom couldn't have picked a better time to piss her off. 

_They're already controlling everything in my life and now they want to control who I'm seeing. This fucking family is too much._

She wouldn't want to go to bed with a heavy heart, it's too painful for her and her eyelids begin to feel heavy but her phone vibrates, waking her a bit. 

Someone just texted.

**[Unknown Number, 9:03 pm]**

**_Hey Nayeon, thanks for coming with me and my friends today. See you tomorrow again? Anyway, good night! - Mina_**

**[Nayeon, 9:05 pm]**

**_No worries, “Mitang” LOL_**

**_I’ll see you on tomorrow’s tour._ **

**[Mina, 9:17 pm]**

**_My friends call me Mitang but you can call me anytime. ;)_ **

**[Nayeon, 9:20 pm]**

**_Okay, anytime. ;)_ **

**_Good night :)_ **

**[Mina, 9:22 pm]**

_**Wait, that's not what I meant!** _

She thought this night couldn’t get any worse but that short exchange of messages from someone kind of lessened the burden a bit. It put a (small) smile on her face.

At least she's still ending her day with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the next chapter, we'll see Minayeon bond(?) in their next tour. 
> 
> Thank you again for reading and please feel free to leave comments about the story! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is a bit long. I'm kind of getting the hang of this writing hehe I hope you all enjoy this one.

“Ah! I’m really excited about this hike!”

The tour for the day is to hike Mount Hallasan.

It’s 5 in the morning and everyone in the coaster is fast asleep, preparing for the long and tiring day ahead.

Nayeon falls asleep on Mina’s shoulder while scrolling through her phone and Mina covers her with a blanket.

It wasn’t a big deal for Mina. It was just her being nice. She just doesn’t want Nayeon to catch a cold because of the cold air conditioning.

With the girl sleeping on her shoulder, it’s now Mina’s turn to literally poke fun on her. She needs to wake her up just before they reach their destination.

She looks at the sleeping girl with sparkling eyes and her finger traces her cheek.

_It’s so squishy._

Mina tries her best from pinching Nayeon’s cheek and maybe she has poked it a bit too hard causing her to groan loudly.

“I’m sorry.” Mina looks apologetically. “I didn’t mean to press too hard. Your cheek just looks _so_ soft.” She caresses to wipe away the pain.

Nayeon’s shocked at how Mina’s acting towards her. She notices how Mina looks at her with so much care like she's the most precious human being.

This sparks something inside her. The excitement in her, making her feel a bit riled up inside.

 _Now is not the time to like someone, Nayeon. When you get back to Seoul, everything will be back to normal. This is just a vacation. This is not forever,_ she reminds herself.

She removes Mina’s hand from her face and teases her, “Don’t touch my face! Your hand might be dirty!”, just to avoid the awkward tension that’s about to surface because of her. 

“Excuse me? I wash my hands regularly and I have a hand sanitizer with me all the time!” Mina argues as they exit the vehicle.

“Yah! Can the two of you quiet down? It’s too early in the morning to hear you fight.” Chaeyoung scolds, making Mina ruffle her hair.

Nayeon crosses her arms to her chest and sticks her tongue out to Mina. 

They all gather at the resting area at the bottom of the trail to listen to the mountain's guides.

Everyone's all set and they begin to climb. Luckily, the beginning of the trail is clear and there are not many rocks along the way, making it easier for everyone to walk.

Sana, Mina, and Momo stayed on the side to take pictures with the trees. It’s been years since the last time the three of them did this.

They used to frequent Mount Takao whenever they would visit Tokyo back then.

The memory is still vivid for them. How Mina's parents would drop them off and would later pick them up at the station, how Sana would trip on a rock and she and Momo would carry her, and how they would take polaroid pictures at the peak sporting their best and biggest smiles for their memories to keep. 

Watching the fallen leaves on the ground, Mina stares at Sana and she remembers. They both do. How their lives began to change. Little did they know that it would change for the worst but they'll always have each other along the way and that's what matters the most. Of course, they have Momo too. The only other ally they have. She raises her phone for a series of photos and the smiles they've shown reminded them of the ones back home.

Nayeon walks ahead of them and minds her business with her airpods plugged in. She wants to relax and be one with nature, as cliche as that may sound.

Looking at the trees and feeling the breeze on her skin helps her reflect on her life. She thinks of everything she’s done for the family, the ‘service’ she’s done.

_This is a good breather. I need to do this more often but… No, I need to get away from them. I’m just tired of it all._

She reaches the first resting area and takes a few pictures here and there, something to remind her of the special day. A voice from behind startles her, disrupting her mini pictorial with the trees.

“Let me take the pictures for you.”

It’s Mina. She gives her her phone and she poses. Nayeon smiles for the camera and does peace signs cutely.

“Are the pictures okay? Don’t make me look like a fool.”

Mina stares at her through the screen of the phone and smiles. “Don’t worry, you look beautiful.” Her smile grows seeing how the subject of the photos makes a blushing mess of herself. 

Unbeknownst to them, their friends from afar capture the moments and admire how cute they look. “Mina likes her, huh?” Dahyun asks.

“It’s too early to tell but I think yes. She’s never been like this to anyone. Well, except for your girlfriend maybe?” Momo explains.

People would say that what Momo said should have made Dahyun uncomfortable but it doesn't because she knows what Sana and Mina had been through.

She also knows that the love the two of them have for each other doesn't involve romance, just the simple platonic love. 

The girls pass by the two and call them to continue their journey up the mountain. They notice that the trails have started to become rocky and they soon pass by bridges and planks. It’s still manageable for them but as they ascend, the hike becomes harder.

When they reach another shelter, they decide to take a few bites of the food they brought.

Nayeon brings out the tangerines she got from yesterday and shares it with them, Momo and Chaeyoung share their tuna kimbap, and Mina brings out some sandwiches she got from the hotel's gift shop.

They eat quickly and silently, exhaustion slowly taking over their bodies. Before continuing their hike, they look around and absorb the beauty of nature that surrounds them.

“I'm tired already but this is nice. Surrounded by trees and good people." Chaeyoung smiles and cuddles into Momo even more.

The girl can't help but feel sentimental all of a sudden because of the thought that her girlfriend will be back in Japan for two weeks right after this relaxing trip.

From where they are standing on the trail, they see the summit.

After a few minutes of walking, the next part of the trail scares them. It was steep and rocky even if there are ropes and railings on the sides to assist them.

It scared Nayeon the most.

Growing up from a privileged family, activities like this is something she never got to experience. She tried to do it discreetly with the help of Jeongyeon but she always ends up getting caught.

Most of the things she’s done since the beginning of this vacation are all her firsts. Well, maybe not the fruit picking since she’s done it already in different countries with her family, but the hiking, going around an unknown location alone, and who knows what else will definitely be her first.

The couples went ahead and before Mina climbs up, she notices that Nayeon is frozen into place.

She looks at her and places a hand on the small of her back and smiles, a gesture she means that she'll stay behind her to assist her. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Nayeon shakes her head, “No. Uhm yeah! Yeah, I’m fine. I’m totally fine. It’s not like this is scaring me at all. It’s not like it’s my first time too and I know I’ll be fine. There are ropes everywhere so I’m safe. I’m not really imagining that this is gonna be the cause of my death and that my parents don’t know that I’m doing this kind of activi—“

Mina pats her shoulders, “Nayeon, you’re rambling. You’re gonna be fine. I’m gonna help you.“

“You are?” She blinks repeatedly.

“Yeah, I am. This isn't my first time hiking and I’m pretty much experienced already so don’t you worry about it.” She smiles.

 _There goes that gummy smile again_.

Nayeon thinks that being in the receiving end of Mina’s gummy smile is calming. She puts her trust in her.

“Okay, it’s really simple. Just watch where you’re stepping on and hold onto the rope. I’ll be right behind you.”

Nayeon holds the rope and her trembles. She pouts and turns to Mina.

“Promise you’ll be holding me?”

“I promise.”

Mina does fulfill it and one hand holds Nayeon by the waist and the other on the rope as they make their way up.

Seeing Nayeon’s worried face a while ago makes her want to wrap her up in a blanket, carry her, and climb this path for the two of them.

They successfully make it through the rocky path to the summit but the climb is far from being over. The last obstacle they need to overcome before reaching the top is the long flight of stairs.

This one’s easier but the view along the way is amazing. Mina sees Dahyun waving and jumping, calling for them to quicken their pace.

“We’re almost there, Nayeon. Are you ready?” Mina asks the heavily breathing girl beside her.

Nayeon takes a huge gulp of her water and says, “Yes, we’re near. Okay, let’s go!” She pats her back for motivation and rushes her way up the summit.

Mina takes out her camera to take pictures of a running Nayeon. “Ah… so cute.”

She looks like a hopping bunny on the stairs with her white jacket and her two front teeth.

_Definitely a cute bunny._

On her last step, she high fives Momo and air punches like Rocky Balboa.

“Wow, the view here looks amazing.” Mina says admiring the place.

For about fifteen minutes, the girls take their own pictures by the lake and wooden railings. Nayeon volunteers to take pictures of the group. The couples place Mina in the middle and they all make kissy-faces to her, making Nayeon laugh really loud.

Mina’s eyes widen hearing the girl laugh at her and her friends.

_Really cute._

“Nayeon! Come and join us. Let’s ask someone to take our photo.” Sana insists.

Chaeyoung walks over to the guide on the side and politely asks for him to take their picture.

The girls make Nayeon stand in the middle with Mina. She places her hand on the small of Nayeon’s back and smiles, urging the girl to lean closer to her and poses again.

The two definitely looked like a couple. The guide returns Chaeyoung's camera and the girl claps, "I can't wait to have these processed."

Before descending the mountain, the girls eat the remaining food they brought to have enough energy on their way down.

It will definitely be a long journey again so they eat as much as they can.

The hike down the mountain is much more difficult since their legs need to absorb their entire body weight as they go down one step at a time.

They all had a hard time going down especially when they reached the steep rocks.

Momo and Chaeyoung led the way for their friends as they are the athletic ones in the group, followed by Dahyun and Sana.

Mina, of course, led the way for Nayeon who needed huge assistance on this part of the journey.

Nearing the end of the trail, Nayeon stumbles on a rock, losing her balance and falls to the ground.

Mina was a bit ahead of her talking to her friends when she hears her shriek from behind. She runs to the girl and helps her get up.

“Nayeon, are you okay? Where does it hurt? Did you sprain your foot?” Mina asks, examining the girl's foot.

“I’m fine, I didn’t sprain my foot. I just lost my balance on a stupid rock.” Nayeon reassures her.

Mina rolls up her sleeve. “Okay, where is that rock? Let me teach it a lesson.”, she says making Nayeon laugh even if she’s limping.

Nayeon pulls her arm and says, “Stop, let’s just go.”

They reach the end with Mina carrying some of Nayeon’s stuff and she places an arm on her waist to help her walk properly.

Sana walks up to them and helps Mina carry the bags on her, “Are you alright, Nayeon?”

“Yeah, I just lost my balance up there but I’m good. I think I just need a good massage tomorrow.” She laughs and limps her way to a nearby bench.

She rolls up her pants and sees that her knees turned red from the fall but there were no bruises. If there are, she’ll be dead. Not literally but she will be grounded for maybe a week. No social gatherings and public appearances for her. A socialite must not have any blemishes on her skin. Bad for the public image or so she thought.

While waiting for the other members of the tour, they rest for a while on the benches and buy some more snacks from the convenience store nearby.

“Are you guys down for a massage day tomorrow?” Nayeon asks.

“Yes, please! My legs are already killing me and I can already see myself crying in pain when I wake up tomorrow.” Dahyun complains.

“Great! Let me call my secretary to sche—“

“Wow, you have a secretary?” Chaeyoung questions.

Nayeon closes her eyes at the slip of word. She wants to slap herself.

_My vacation just started, they can’t find out._

She quickly thinks of how to escape this mishap.

“Yeah, my secretary a.k.a. my best friend back in the city who knows a lot of massage places here in Jeju.” She laughs. 

_That was close._

The girls did not seem to notice the nervous laughter she gave off. Nayeon doesn’t call Jeongyeon to schedule them a massage appointment at Jeju’s best. Instead, she texts her.

_Done and scheduled._

They arrive back at the hotel and everyone went straight to their rooms except for Mina, who accompanied Nayeon back to her room.

She wanted to make sure that the girl gets to her room safely, avoiding any more injuries.

That’s her excuse for her friends but they know Mina too well. She just wants to be with the girl.

Nayeon, however, feels that she knows what Mina is trying to do. She doesn’t stop her because she is liking the gesture too. The attention and flirting the two of them have been doing the past few days, the fun in being with someone without knowing who she is or her family name is something she’s been wishing to have for so long.

This is why Nayeon’s been going along with it because she knows this is just temporary. Nothing can go further with this. 

“You know, you’re just one floor away from me. I can just pick you up all the time.” Mina winks.

“It’s just been days and you already have my number and my hotel room number. Wow, how did you do it Mina?” Nayeon sarcastically asks.

Mina gives her a gummy smile, “Let’s just say I’m a sucker for girls with cute bunny smiles.”

Nayeon smiles widely at the mention of “bunny smiles” because bunny smiles are her thing.

People from school and among her peers know that Im Nayeon is the only one capable to melt everyone's hearts with just a smile or better yet, a smile showing her signature front teeth.

She opens her room and points to where Mina can place her things.

“So this is me now. I’ll see you tomorrow for the massage?” She asks as she walks Mina to the door.

Rocking up and down on the balls of her feet, Mina says, “Yeah, definitely. My friends and I are looking forward to it. Thanks again for inviting us.” 

“Okay, cool. Uhm, thanks again for uhm, helping me a while ago.”

Mina’s eyes remain on the ground, shyness taking over her. “Don’t worry about it, Nayeon.”

The awkwardness between them cannot go unnoticed and Nayeon calls it out, “Well, this is not awkward at all.”

She stares at the girl who is just looking at the ground.

A few seconds passed and, “Yeah, uhh okay, good night. See you, Nayeon.” Mina bows at her and walks back to her room.

_Really? A bow? That’s the best I could do?_

She slaps her forehead for being a coward, not even initiating any other action. She could have gone for a hug or maybe even a kiss on the cheek? But she settled for a bow.

_How formal._

Nayeon closes the door and rubs her head, quite confused.

_Really, Mina? A bow? You could’ve gone for a hug._

* * *

They say sleep is a luxury but sleeping in a luxurious hotel is divine.

One thing Nayeon is thankful for is her family name. She sees it as a privilege.

Being born an Im is like a passport, immunity to most situations.

One time, her driver got pulled over by the police causing her to be late to her accounting class. And Im Nayeon is never late for anything. She took advantage of her curse-of-a-name and got out of the situation smoothly.

“Hello sir, I’m sorry but I’m going to be late for my class. Maybe we can settle this on the side?”

“Ma’am, I’m afraid your driver has violated a traffic rule here. We need to confiscate his license and he can pick it up at the station.” The policeman explains.

Nayeon says with a sigh, checking her nails. “Sir, I’m an _Im_ and I’m already late for my class. Maybe Chief Kang would like to hear a good story about one of his men who I got the honor of meeting?” She concludes like a truly spoiled socialite that she portrays to be.

The policeman’s eyes grow in shock, standing firmly and moves out of the way to let her vehicle pass through. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Ms. Im.”

“Thank you, officer. Have a good day.”

Now, here she is at one of the best hotels in Jeju, making a phone call to the hotel manager to close off the spa for her and her new friends.

Of course, she wouldn’t end the phone call without buying the manager’s silence.

No one can know that an Im is within the vicinity or all hell will break loose. It will be such an inconvenience for the other guests if the entire place will be surrounded by an untamed group of paparazzi, trying to get a glimpse of one of Seoul's biggest socialites. 

“No one is ought to know who is in the spa right?”

_“Yes, Ms. Im. My lips are sealed and so are the staffs there.”_

“Good, then there won’t be any trouble here.”

She heads down and settles the payment with the manager before heading to the beachfront restaurant for lunch.

Before a relaxing treatment, she needs to take in good food with a relaxing view.

“Hi, Nayeon! I’m surprised to see you here. I was expecting you’d be, I don’t know, outside swimming.”

“Hey, Momo! You guys just woke up?”

Momo rubs her eyes to remove the remaining sleep, “Mmm yeah. We had a good rest although our bodies are aching so fucking much. They’re actually all on their way down. What time is the massage again?”

“Maybe we can have it in an hour or two after everyone’s eaten?”

“That seems right. Do you mind if we join you for lunch?”

Nayeon gestures for Momo to sit. “No, not at all! Please feel free to sit.”

The rest of the girls finally arrive and Nayeon’s surprised to see a pouty and grumpy Mina make her way into the restaurant.

_Ahhh she looks so cute, I want to keep her in my pocket._

The moment Mina sees Nayeon, her pout fades and her day has already gotten better. The only reason why Mina was grumpy in the first place was because of how Sana kept on teasing her about how whipped she was when they used to date and now here she is, being all whipped for Nayeon. Talk about how history repeats itself.

Chaeyoung walks behind Momo and covers her eyes, “Chaeyoungie, I know it’s you. You’re the only one here who has hands that smell like pencils.”

Dahyun laughs, “Shall I say ‘perk’ of dating an artist?”

“You’re no different, babe. Your hand smells like garlic sometimes.” Sana says.

“Sana, you love these hands even if they smell like garlic. Last I checked, you can’t get enough of these especially when—“

Mina interjects, “Okay TMI! Keep away from the sex talk. We have a guest here.”

“Why Mina? Sex talk makes you uncomfortable?” Nayeon gives her a judging look.

Sana smirks and looks at Mina, ready to tease. “I mean, none of us even mentioned the word ‘sex’ here or even implied it.”

“Yeah, Mina. Are you...” Nayeon whispers, “…horny right now?”

Mina slams a hand on the table, “No, I’m not!”

The girls all laugh at her. They always have fun teasing Mina because of the reactions they get out of her.

If they were in a reality show, she’d probably be a meme by now with thousands of her facial expressions published in the internet for the entire world to see.

“Being horny is normal, totally fine.” Dahyun nods and pats her back.

Teasing Mina has come to a halt when their food arrives, with them making a few ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s.

Nayeon’s new friends pay for lunch for being friendly to them the entire trip.

“I hope we get to see each other in Seoul after this trip.” Momo sadly smiles at her.

She knows it’s impossible. They live very different lives and getting them involved with her would mean endless problems for them, at least that’s what she thinks.

If you’re not part of the class A, you can’t associate with Im Nayeon. That’s an unwritten rule in the world of the socialites which she badly wants to change but at what cost? Instead, Nayeon returns Momo’s sad smile with a hopeful one.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be able to spend some time together when we all get back.”

_Lies._

They wait at the spa’s reception area until the manager meets them and directs them inside.

One by one, the girls choose their preferred treatments and they soon get escorted to their own private quarters to begin.

Bones cracking and loud groans fill the entire spa Nayeon, who luckily and unknown to them, paid for or else hearing them would send different implications to other guests.

After a good full body massage, they head out to the common area in their white robes and laid their backs on the soft lounge chairs for a good mani-pedi and hand & foot massage. They couldn’t ask for a better day.

Sana takes a sip of her strawberry smoothie and announces, “Since we’ll be leaving Jeju in a few days, Dahyun and I decided to go kayaking tomorrow so please, I hope you guys join us.”

“Is that one of those transparent kayaks?”, Nayeon inquires.

“Yup, it’s gonna be so fun!”

Momo looks at them with concern, “What if I fall off the boat? You guys know I don’t know how to swim.”

“I already taught you didn’t I? I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Mina says.

“Yeah, babe. Besides, Mina is a good teacher right?”

Mina snorts, “If Momo isn’t one of my closest friends, I would’ve let her drown.”

“HEY! That’s not funny.” She crosses her arms and pouts.

“Stop whining. You know I adore you.”

They bicker until Nayeon discovers that Chaeyoung used to have a crush on Mina.

Curiosity took over her and she wanted to know more about what happened. The small girl feels embarrassed all of a sudden but Momo encourages her to tell Nayeon more about it and winks at her girlfriend.

At that wink, she knew what she had to do. Momo wants Chaeyoung to tell the story to feed Nayeon details why her girlfriend had a crush on Mina, doing cupid’s job for their friend.

Chaeyoung turns to Nayeon, “Okay, so here’s how it started.”

Mina intervenes, “Chaeyoung! Don’t even.”

The girl grins and continues her story. “Momo and I were just friends during that time and Mina just transferred from Japan.”

Nayeon takes mental note of Japan, to ask furthermore as to why she moved to Seoul.

“I’m telling you, Nayeon, seeing Mina for the first time was like divine intervention.”

Mina throws a nail file at her. “Divine intervention my ass.”

“I’m not kidding! Anyway, she looked so elegant that day. She was super nice too. Momo introduced her to us along with Sana and we just hit it off. In the group, I mean. After a few weeks, I started trying to make my crush on her a bit more obvious by being with her all the time, accompanying her to her errands and such. But you know what sealed the deal for me? Like completely made me head over heels for her?”

Momo interrupts, “Uhm, babe, can you continue that later? I’m kind of hungry? Hehe”

They all changed back to their clothes and headed to the restaurant right across their hotel for dinner.

Mina tells them that she’ll be treating them tonight since they’ve been bugging her the entire day about it.

 _After all those teasing and I still treat them dinner_ , she sighs but they know she loves them with all her heart.

As they begin to eat, Nayeon starts to feel impatient and reminds Chaeyoung to continue where she left off.

“Oh right! Where was I?”

“Why she’s your ultimate crush.” Nayeon answers.

She looks like a kid listening to a parent’s good night story, all her attention on the storyteller. 

Mina isn't really a mysterious girl for her, she's quite the opposite of how she's acting towards her. The obvious flirting and her kindness; her kindness is definitely something that she finds very attractive.

Momo leans and whispers to Chaeyoung, “Babe, don’t oversell. You might look a bit obvious.” They both silently laugh and she continues. “Okay, so this sealed it for me. When I saw her dance in the practice room at school. The elegance, the poise, and the aura was something. After that, every time I see her, my heart just races. It pushed me to confess to her. But…” She trails off hesitating a bit to finish her sentence but Sana continues for her. “But she rejected her. She wasn’t really interested in Chaeyoungie. I know Mina’s type.” She squints her eyes at her best friend, “She likes a strong-willed and confident girl. A sexy one, that’s for sure. And someone who’ll accept her for who she is.”

Nayeon turns to Mina, nodding slowly, “You’re lucky you have friends who know you so well. Not everyone gets to have that.”

“Yeah, not everyone gets to have friends who are CLEARLY AND OBVIOUSLY SELLING YOU.” Mina shakes her head.

Nayeon gives them a puzzled look.

“I know what you’re all trying to do here. Go ahead, proceed but you better do it right.” Mina giggles.

Nayeon waves her hand to them, “I’m sorry but I think I’m a bit lost.”

Mina places a hand on Nayeon’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you find your way back.”, and winks.

Dahyun stands up and high fives her, “That was smooth.”

As if a light switched inside Nayeon’s brain, she got it. She chuckles at them, “I get it now. You’re selling Mina to me, right? Like, you're all telling me these positive traits so I'll like her right?”

The table becomes silent and nobody dares look at Nayeon right in the eyes so she glares at Momo. She feels that this girl will cave into her and unfortunately for them, she does.

“Okay, fine. We are.”

Sana groans, “Why would you do that Momo? Dahyun and I were watching on the side and we totally got what you were doing and went along with it.”

“She’s smart. She’ll eventually get it anyway.”

All Mina feels is embarrassment. Not for her but for how her friends acted in the restaurant.

_They really shouldn’t have done that. Now, what is Nayeon gonna think of me?_

She ponders on the lounge chair on the balcony of her room. She takes in the summer breeze and looks up to admire the starry night while sipping on some hot lemon tea.

Funny how the girl occupying her thoughts recently suddenly sends her a message.

**[Nayeon, 9:08 pm]** ****

**_Hey, you don’t need to feel embarrassed about a while ago. It’s okay._ **

**[Mina, 9:10 pm]** ****

**_I never said I was embarrassed lol_ ** ****

**_But I would like to apologize for how my friends acted a while ago. I’m not in on the joke or set up they were trying to pull, believe me._ **

**[Nayeon, 9:13 pm]** ****

**_But I heard you a while ago that they need to do it better haha_ **

**[Mina, 9:15 pm]** ****

**_Okay yeah... but I’m not wrong. They overdid it smh_ **

**[Nayeon, 9:16 pm]**

**_Okay, then how would you sell yourself to me then?_**

**[Mina, 9:18 pm]** ****

**_Hmm… If you let me take you out on a date then you’d know._ **

**[Nayeon, 9:20 pm]** ****

**_Oohhh I thought you're not the mysterious type. Guess I was wrong._ **

**[Mina, 9:21 pm]** ****

**_Maybe I'm not, maybe I am. Who knows?_ ** ****

**_I’ll see you tomorrow then?_ **

**[Nayeon, 9:22 pm]** ****

**I may have to pass but I will try.**

**[Mina, 9:25 pm]** ****

**_Okay, I'm claiming it. I will see you tomorrow._ **

**_Good night, Nayeon. :)_ **

**[Nayeon, 9:26 pm]** ****

**_Good night, Mina. :)_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft minayeon uwu 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me a while to update. Work has been beating my ass up lately. Please enjoy this update!

The beach is anyone’s safe haven especially if you’re someone who wants to run away and take a break from the stress and pressure of the city. For most people, a beach vacation is their only way to cope with their problems. For Mina, it's the smell of salt in the air and sand on her skin that makes her forget for a while.

Today is her friends’ last day in Jeju and their plan for the day is to just kayak, swim, and obviously get drunk.

Sana knocks on each of their doors as a start. It’s already past two in the afternoon and they’ve already wasted half of the day sleeping and for some, cuddles, or maybe even sex?

“Momo, wake up!” She knocks on the girl’s door then moves to the next room, doing the same. “Mina, get your ass up! We’re going to the beach in ten minutes!”

Mina hears her best friend’s knocks while lounging in the balcony. She had been awake for quite some time now, calling her mom to update her on her vacation and plans for the upcoming semester.

Apart from that, she also updates her on how Sana is doing. Her mom will forever have a soft spot for her best friend.

She still has ten minutes to prepare her stuff for the day.

Before leaving, she drops a message to the girl who’s been occupying her mind lately, telling her that she and her friends are going down to the beach and that she’s free to drop by anytime.

They all meet at one of the beach umbrellas outside. Dahyun takes out a huge towel and lays it on the sand. She and Sana tell everyone that they’ll be heading to the kayak rental and will be back in about thirty minutes to an hour.

Momo grabs a juice pouch from the cooler and lays on her back. “I think we should take turns swimming on the beach. You know, so someone could watch over our stuff?”

“I agree." Mina says while standing, "I’m gonna go first. Bye!” She runs to the water before the couple beat her to it.

The moment her feet touched the salt water, she felt like not getting out anymore. She spends most of her time floating on her back and riding along the waves, watching those who are surfing and cheering on the little kids learning how to swim.

Once her skin starts to feel a bit painful for staying under the sun too long, she heads back to her friends under the shade of their umbrella.

She grabs a towel and dries her hair, “Momo, wake up. You guys can go and swim now. I think I’m done for the day.”

Momo sits up and stretches. She fell asleep on Chaeyoung’s thigh while reading a book. “Hmm, I had a good nap. I think I might stay for a while. Babe, you can go ahead if you want.”

Chaeyoung rolls over and murmurs, “No. Sleep. More.”

“Alright, suit yourselves.” Mina grabs a mango juice and lays on her back again.

She checks her phone and sees that Nayeon still hasn’t responded to her message yet. It's not like she's expecting for the girl to reply.

 _Maybe Nayeon's just really busy today_ _._

Feeling bored, she checks her friends’ Instagram stories.

Most of them are out of the country, while the others are busy with their part-time jobs.

When Mina’s in her nirvana, she becomes quiet and very observant of her surroundings. Staring at the palm leaves move to the breeze and watching the people come in and out of the beach.

Her eyes catch a particular figure walking across their hotel’s premises. It’s Nayeon and she’s holding her hand out to someone.

A girl grabs her hand and pulls her for a hug.

_Oh, she has a girlfriend._

She hugs the girl back and they sit at the beachfront restaurant.

Mina looks away feeling a bit hurt from what she saw.

_She has someone else yet she was flirting with me?_

She frowns and goes back to the saltwater to calm herself.

In times like this, her thoughts begin to run wild causing her to be a bit anxious. She sits by the shore, sulking. Too deep in her thoughts that she doesn’t notice that Chaeyoung sits beside her.

“Hey, you’ve been here the entire afternoon. What’s up?”

Chaeyoung and Mina have known each other for a few years now but out of all her friends, except for Sana and Momo, she’s the one who understands her the most. Whenever her Japanese friends aren’t available, Chaeyoung’s the one who comforts and talks sense into her.

“What do you mean what’s up?” Mina asks, pretending not to know what the girl is talking about.

“Mina, you can’t hide shit from me. I know something’s wrong just by looking at you. I have a sixth sense when it comes to you, you know.”

Mina chuckles, “I’m gonna pretend that that didn’t sound creepy at all.”

“You suck. I’m going.” Chaeyoung says but doesn’t stand up because she knows her friend is just avoiding this conversation with her so she bumps her shoulder into hers. “Seriously though, what’s up with you? You’ve been moping around here.”

“I think she has a girlfriend.” Mina sighs defeatedly, “I think Nayeon has a girlfriend.”

Chaeyoung frowns, “How did you know? And how sure are you?”

“I saw her just now in a restaurant with a girl. They hugged and held hands, that’s it.”

The girl can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous her claim is. “You’re not even sure about it, Mina. Stop assuming. Maybe it was just a friend.”

Mina groans at herself. She hates it when her thoughts get the best of her. She holds her head in her hands, “You’re right. I should stop thinking too much about it. Maybe that girl really is just her friend. Thanks, Chaengie.”

This time, Chaeyoung ruffles Mina’s hair for doing a good job of setting her mind straight. “Just remember, Mina. Don’t assume anything unless she confirms it and stop worrying about asking her about it as well. After all, nothing will happen if neither of you will talk.”

They walk back to the shade and Mina is back to her playful self again, pouring sand on Momo's bare stomach. The girl throws her juice pouch at her and lays on her back again to take a nap.

Sana and Dahyun arrive minutes after and brought back with them printed photos of them in the transparent kayak.

“Dahyunie, you look like you’re about to cry here!” Momo points at the photo.

Mina nods, “Yeah, Dahyun. You do look like you’re about to cry.”

“FYI, Sana was being a bit clumsy. She almost got our kayak turned over.” She defends.

“Babe, it’s not my fault! You keep on letting go of the paddle and you weren’t even making an effort to grab it.” Sana laughs, explaining to everyone how she wasn’t accountable at Dahyun’s funny looks in the photos.

The girls pack up their things and head to the beachfront restaurant where Mina saw Nayeon with a girl. She’s feeling a bit hopeful with what Chaeyoung said, taking note that she should ask the girl about it.

They sit and browse the menu to order. Unexpectedly, Nayeon approaches them with the girl behind her. “Hey, girls! Today’s your last day right?”

Mina doesn’t look at her and focuses on her menu instead.

“We’re actually planning to drink in our room tonight. You should come with.” Sana invites.

Mina’s ears perk at the conversation, eyes still on the menu she’s holding. She can feel Nayeon looking but she doesn’t budge.

“Yeah, I’m free tonight. Maybe Mina can text me your room number?”

Mina still doesn't look up and continues to ignore the girl.

Chaeyoung kicks her in the shin, making her wince in pain. She glares at her and tilts her head to answer Nayeon, leaving her no choice but to look at the girl, not wanting to seem rude to everyone including Nayeon's _girlfriend_.

“I-I’ll just text it to you.”

Nayeon thanks her and gives her a small sad smile. “We’ll go ahead. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Mina, can you go with me to the cafe? I’ll just check out some pastries.”, Chaeyoung asks.

She rolls her eyes at her friend, “You can check it on the menu.”

“No, let’s go.”

“What are y—“

Chaeyoung grabs her hand and drags her outside the restaurant.

“Mina, what the hell was that?!”

Mina pinches the bridge of her nose, slightly frustrated at where her friend is getting at. She gets it, she’s disappointed in her too.

“I know, it was my fault. I can’t help it, okay? The girl was there. I don't know how to handle shit in a situation like this.”

Chaeyoung grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her. Maybe that can help her think straight.

“Okay, game plan tonight is you text her the room number, you drink for confidence, and you ask her. Okay?”

She lets out a breath and nods in agreement just to get it over with. “Fine, I will. I just need a few shots then maybe I can do it.”

**[Mina, 7:13 pm]**

**_Sana’s room is at 12G_ **

**[Nayeon, 7:15 pm]**

**_Thanks, Mina. See you!_ **

Mina stares at her phone and debates on whether she will send a reply to Nayeon or not. She still feels quite uneasy with how she acted in front of the girl at the restaurant.

_Maybe she was too busy to notice that I ignored her? I’m sure she was._

The walk back to Sana’s room felt like forever with Mina’s thoughts running wild— how she’s going to execute tonight’s plan smoothly. Actually, it's Chaeyoung’s plan. She soon reaches the room and knocks using her elbow due to the number of bags she’s holding. Sana asked her to buy some more chips and drinks for them while the others prepare some food to munch on. Momo opens the door and helps her carry the bags to the kitchen counter.

“Mitang, you just made it right on time. Nayeon’s already arrived and we've already set everything up on the balcony.” She informs her.

Her heart starts to race and she grabs an unopened bottle of tequila.

With her trembling body, she definitely needs a shot or two to calm. She downs two shots and heads to the bathroom to give herself a few pep talks. She stares at herself in the mirror and lightly slaps both of her cheeks to make sure that her soul is awake and that tonight is the moment of truth for her and that is if Nayeon has a girlfriend or not.

“Okay, Mina. Let’s not fuck up tonight. I mean, let’s get drunk but we have a mission to do first. Then we can get drunk.” She whispers to herself, bobs her head claiming that she will be successful. _Law of attraction_ , she thinks.

She exits the bathroom and heads to the balcony with a bowl of chips in hand.

“Minari is finally here!” Chaeyoung cheers.

Mina knows her friend is definitely excited about how she will unfold her plan and it looks like she’s already consumed a fair amount of alcohol to be this giddy.

Dahyun cuts in, “Mina, sit here!” She points to the seat beside Sana which happens to be beside Nayeon. Of course, her friends are in on it too. 

Mina walks over to them and accepts the offer. Nayeon looks up at her and smiles, handing her a cup filled with alcohol. She takes it and says her thanks.

The party is now set in motion with everyone on their seats and the music playing loud enough not to get them noise complaints.

A party wouldn’t be complete without playing a few games. And what better way to start it with a classic. Sana goes in and takes out an empty glass bottle. She looks at all of them with a smirk. “Let’s start with an easy one. Spin the bottle.”

Mina rolls her eyes. “Is this the rated G or X?”, she asks making Nayeon chuckle and slap her thigh. The small gesture made her feel something deep inside. She tilts her head to the side to hide her smile and continues to drink from her cup.

“Oh, it’s rated PG and up.” Sana winks at her best friend and the girls all raise their cups.

Dahyun shakes her head, “College girls gone wild.” She motions for her girlfriend to set the bottle down and begin the game. “Okay, wait. We only have one rule in this game. If the bottle lands on you, you do the challenge and you take a full shot if you can’t. Simple. Just to also clarify, you all give your consent to whatever dare any of us gets right? Otherwise, we will skip this.” They all nod. “Also, since we have a newcomer here, I believe the pleasure is all hers of spinning first.”

Nayeon raises her cup and screams in joy, “Yeah, let’s do this!”.

She puts her hand on Mina’s thigh to assist herself as she spins the bottle on the table.

Mina stares at the hand on her skin and her eyes grow bigger.

After two shots and two cups of her drink, she’s starting to feel a bit woozy.

The skin to skin contact made her feel like she is on fire, that Nayeon touching her thigh is making her feel hot. She brushes the inappropriate thoughts aside and thinks that maybe it’s just the alcohol playing with her.

Nayeon spins the bottle and it lands on Momo. She sits back down again and moves closer to Mina to feel a bit more comfortable. She pouts and thinks of a dare worth giving to Momo but since the night is still young, she settles with an easy one.

“Momo, I dare you to drink three shots of tequila. Straight.”

“What?!” Momo stands and contests. “Do you want me to get drunk already?”

Nayeon laughs, “If you won’t do it, you’re still gonna take a shot either way!”

Chaeyoung pats her on the butt and laughs, “It does make sense, babe. Just choose one.”

Momo settles with skipping the ridiculous dare and takes a shot.

They all start with pretty easy challenges ranging from doing splits, viral dance challenges, kissing a person’s foot (e.g. Sana kissing Momo’s foot), kissing someone on the cheek (e.g. Nayeon kissing Dahyun’s cheek), and some arm slapping.

The funniest thing they’ve seen the entire night was Chaeyoung slapping Dahyun across the face.

The best friends have been so out of it and gladly accepted Mina’s dare. Nayeon pushes her that she almost fell off the chair laughing so hard because of it.

The duo stands in front of them and positions themselves.

Chaeyoung starts rubbing her palms together for a dramatic effect and Dahyun stretches her neck as if it would lessen the pain she’s about to feel.

Sana delays the dare, “Babe, if it will hurt super bad, just know that I’ve prepared some ice for you.”

Dahyun gives her two thumbs up and her eyes look like they’re about to close due to drunkenness.

Chaeyoung raises her hand which is now a bit warm because of the constant rubbing and pulls her hand back.

Dahyun closes her eyes tightly and places both hands on her thighs to hold herself.

A loud slap and a muffled cry echoed in the balcony.

The girls were all shocked by what they just witnessed.

Sana quickly runs to Dahyun’s rescue and places a towel packed with ice on her face.

The girl that slapped her girlfriend looks at her hand and raises it like she holds the most power out of all of them, making them all laugh and cheer for her even the victim who fell under it.

“Dahyunie! You did well!” Mina claps and pats her friend on her head.

Sana chuckles and pouts at her girlfriend who she knows is too drunk to even feel the extreme pain on her face.

The dares went on until one brave person who is too drunk challenges Sana and Mina to make out in front of everyone. Momo urged her two good friends to do it and others soon joined in. Nayeon smiled and kept mum about it.

“This isn’t weird at all.”

“Nope, not weird at all.”

Everyone’s drunk and a bit reckless. Maybe there’s no harm in doing something that they both used to do… with each other.

Nayeon stares at Dahyun with a look screaming “You’re really gonna allow this?”

Dahyun smiles at her and nods, telling her that it’s okay.

Mina scoots closer to Sana who grabs her face with both hands. They both lean in eagerly with their lips crashing, moving on their own like they’ve known each other for so long, revisiting old patterns. Everyone watches their every move with Momo smiling at them and mouths, “Wow”.

Nayeon, who is sitting beside them, feels a bit of discomfort. The thought of seeing Mina kiss someone else in front of her sets a fire within her. Like she wants to break the kiss off and take Mina away with her, hoping it was her instead.

They both pull away and Sana wipes a bit of saliva on the bottom of Mina’s lower lip and the two giggle.

Dahyun fans herself and says, “That was… hot.”

Sana laughs and walks back to her. She hugs Dahyun like there's no tomorrow and drunkenly crashes her lips on her girlfriend's and the two kiss passionately earning a few disgusting looks from their friends. 

"You guys can continue this when we get back to Seoul. Just don't have sex while we're here in _your_ room." Momo yells.

Chaeyoung, still in awe, asks, “You guys looked comfortable doing it. It’s like how you guys were before.”

Dahyun throws a chip and corrects her, “Idiot! They really used to do it before. Are you forgetting they’re exes?”

 _Oh,_ Nayeon thinks. She looks at Mina who’s smiling widely at Sana and Dahyun. She doesn’t know what to do with the bomb that was just dropped. Should she catch it and let it blow up in her face or throw it to avoid being a casualty? It made her feel weird. Jealous maybe? Sadness? All she knows is that she doesn’t like it. Not one bit.

The night went on and Mina noticed that Nayeon has been quiet for some time now. She rarely joins in on the conversation and just either smiles or laughs.

 _Something has definitely shifted within this girl_.

Momo and Chaeyoung call it a night and sleep on the couch inside.

Before Chaeyoung could step in, she eyes Mina and taps her wrist like she’s wearing a watch. She isn't. "Tick tock", she mouths.Mina sighs and nods at her friend, shooing her.

The remaining girls rearrange themselves with Sana and Dahyun lying on the huge lounge chair while Mina and Nayeon sit comfortably on the bench across them.

The awkward silence between them cannot be unfelt and Nayeon breaks the ice amongst them, “How did the kayaking go? You guys took lots of pictures?”

Sana chuckles at the memory of how her girlfriend panicked when she was trying to reach for the paddle. She snuggles into her more, “Dahyun was a big baby back there.”

“Yeah, Dahyun was and she's lucky Sana was there.” Mina says, shocking Nayeon even more.

She wasn’t expecting that the exes are really good friends who even support each other. Talk about maturity.

_How could they manage to be this civil? Wow._

After seeing them make out, Nayeon wants to know more about their history. Like what went wrong and how it ended. She may be a total stranger but you know how people always say that it’s better to open up to a complete stranger? So she follows her guts and asks, “So you two dated?”, taking a sip from her cup.

Mina and Sana look at each other, signaling that they should probably tell Nayeon about their dating history especially with how she knows about Mina’s intention towards the girl.

Good intentions, by the way.

Sana begins, “As you may know, we go way back in Japan but Mina and I dated when we were in high school. It started out as a favor to save my ass from some crazy guys. Them finding out that I have a girlfriend totally shut them up, that’s for sure. Mina saved me until the act felt real,” She looks at Mina and smiles at her. “What was once an act became real. Momo then moved to Seoul during our senior year and Mina and I faced everything all on our own.”

“Just to add to what she said, we ended things on a positive note. After everything that’s happened to us back home, we realized that we’re really better off as friends.” Mina stares at Nayeon, “The love I have for Sana now is platonic.”

Nayeon felt the sincerity from the two girls, making her feel light and at ease. “I was actually surprised that you guys are exes and that you made out _in front_ of your girlfriend.”

They hear light snores from beside Sana and see Dahyun fast asleep on her shoulder. “If I may ask, how did Dahyun take it? Finding out that the two of you used to date?”

“It took a whole lot of explaining to her. I told her about our history on our fifth month of being together. It was a bad move, I must admit. Mina’s presence basically annoyed the shit out of her since then but she slowly understood.” Sana explains, caressing the hand of her girlfriend wrapped around her waist, recalling the hard times of their relationship explaining how she and Mina don’t have romantic feelings for each other anymore. It took a while for Dahyun to grasp the situation as to why what happened to them happened but she understood and completely accepted it in the end.

Mina adjusts her position on the bench and places her arm on the edge behind Nayeon. She leans in and whispers, “I hope this doesn’t stop me from taking you out on a date.” The girl looks over her shoulder, knowing that Mina’s face is near, and says, “Let’s just see about that.”

 _What a tease._ _I like it._

The feeling of contentment and alcohol is a bad combination for Nayeon. It makes her want to break free from the cage that she’s been living in her whole life. Meeting new people, spending time, and getting drunk with them is something she’ll want to do over and over again if life permits. She takes as much as she can and leans on Mina, her back against her front, and finishes her drink. They watch the night sky and hope that it will go on for a lifetime.

“Do you want to drink some more in my room? Sana's already asleep and I'm not really that drunk or sleepy yet.” Mina whispers in Nayeon’s ear, her arms wrapped around the girl, feeling that they’ll both regret it if they call it a night. Nayeon snuggles closer to Mina and nods. Mina feels her cheeks heat up and her heart flutter like it’s never done before. It actually has never done it before, not until now. Nayeon makes her feel some type of way.

They wake Sana and Dahyun up and helped them walk to their bed. Mina tucks both of her friends in and kisses them on the head.

“I’ll see you both back in Seoul okay?” Mina asks and Sana pulls her in for a hug, “Yep, good night. Thank you Mitang.”

Nayeon, on the other hand, cleans up the cups and empty bottles on the balcony. She is soon joined by Mina and packs up the opened chips and places them on the counter inside.

Once everything is clean and presentable, Mina gives each of her friends a hug and a kiss on the head and yells, “See you all soon. Love you!”, then closes the door.

They walk to Mina’s room with a respectable amount of distance between them. They reach Mina’s room and Nayeon’s surprised to see that hers is bigger than the one’s she and Sana got. She wonders why a girl like her would get a huge room if she’s here alone.

“I have some bottles of wine there. Pick anything you want and let's drink outside.” Mina points to the table.

She grabs two bottles of Yellow Tail.

Mina helps her open the door, with two glasses in her hand. They pour themselves a drink and sit on the lounge chairs. The sound of liquid pouring in their glasses fill the spaces.

Nayeon watches the girl set their glasses down speaks up, “Tell me the truth. Why did you really ask me to drink here in your room? Trying to get me laid?”, she smirks.

“Wow, that’s what you really think of me?” Mina gasps, acting a bit offended with her hand on her chest.

They both laugh and Mina gazes at Nayeon, her expression a bit more serious but calm.

“Seriously though? I don’t know. I just don’t want the night to end yet.” They both stare into each other’s eyes and Mina leans in a bit.

_She’s going for a kiss. What do I do?!_

Nayeon quickly grabs her glass and takes a sip of the wine, making Mina retract and grab her own glass as if nothing happened and leans on her chair.

They can perfectly hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore then suddenly, Mina remembers Chaeyoung’s grand plan: to ask Nayeon who the girl she was with a while ago. She turns to Nayeon again, “I just remembered, why didn’t you bring your girlfriend tonight?”

A confused Nayeon looks at her, “What girlfriend?”

“The girl you were with a while ago.”

Nayeon looks from afar to think, trying to remember who her supposed girlfriend is. “Oh! The one at the restaurant? That was just my friend from school.” She sees Mina smile and relaxes a bit in her seat. “We bumped into each other on the beach and decided to have lunch. Why do you ask?”

She tries to act cool and clears her throat. “Nothing, I just thought you guys were dating.”

A moment of silence envelops them. Mina absorbs the fact that Nayeon is indeed single and is probably considering the date she proposed. She tries to hide her smile and turns her head away from her.

“So school… what program are you in? Didn’t you say you're in your junior year?”

“I’m taking business management and yes, I’m in my junior year. What about you?”

“Wow, that sounds grand. Let me guess, you have a family business to run?”

Nayeon’s surprised, to say the least. Mina’s assumption was something she wasn’t expecting.

 _It’s impossible that she knows. She’s not from the country so she definitely wouldn’t have a clue_.

“How can you say?”

“Well, most of the people I know who are in that program either want to start their own or their parents want them to take over the family business. Well, I would know since I was supposed to do it too.” Mina opens up.

The topic of her family life isn’t something she wants to keep from people.

Nayeon intently listens and gives her a sad smile because she understands. That’s what is currently happening to her. She feels for the girl.

“Back in Japan, our family business is big. It still is. We own a huge hospital chain. It’s being run by my dad and brother. When they found out that I have no interest in it, I fought real hard with them.” She grabs her glass and takes a sip.

Nayeon stares at her hands, not knowing what to say. She wants to cry and let it all out to Mina, let all the nagging pain out. She wants to scream it at the top of her lungs. Or it must be just the alcohol playing with all her emotions, triggering her from left to right.

“That must be tough. Were you able to overcome it?” She looks at the girl, waiting for her answer, anticipating that maybe she can apply it to hers. What they have are completely different circumstances but she still looks at her situation with a gleam of hope.

Mina twirls her glass and observes the liquid in it, smiling at how she won it in the end. “Yes, I was. When they found out that Sana and I were dating, they couldn’t be any happier. They were very supportive, in fact. It was a long battle of trying to make them understand why. Business is really not for me and they eventually let me choose the program I want— Dance.”

“No wonder that night at the club. You were feeling yourself.”

“What a stalker,” Mina laughs, “Were you watching me the entire night?”

Nayeon chuckles, “Cheers to a successful life, Mina.”

They both clink their glasses and drink up.

They spend the night laughing at Mina’s college episodes with the girls, telling her some embarrassing stories, and how she copes with missing home. Mina tells Nayeon that moving to Seoul was her own decision and she’s lucky to have Sana along with her.

Nayeon asks if she’s ever dated anyone when she moved and Mina says ‘no’, prompting her to lean towards the girl with a smirk. Just a few more sips and they’re surely drunk as hell.

Mina lies on the chair with her hands as a pillow, starting to feel unstable and her vision turning a bit blurry. She doesn’t feel sleepy yet but she knows she’s drunk.

Nayeon walks back from the bathroom in a condition much worse than hers. She has a hard time helping herself sit on the chair so Mina guides her to her seat instead, making her sit in between her legs. The girl leans and grabs Mina’s arms to wrap around her small waist. She hums, “This may be my favorite spot.”

Her heart beats a thousand times and her insides rile up because of Nayeon. The two can’t seem to take their hands off of each other.

Mina places her hands on Nayeon’s thighs as they talk about their itinerary on the island once their friends leave.

“Will I be seeing you in a bikini any time soon?”, she smirks, whispering those words in Nayeon’s ear with a low voice.

Nayeon squirms a bit and leans her neck more to the side, wanting that sensation again of Mina’s warm breath hit her skin, and hearing her low voice feels so heavenly.

“I’m sure you’ll see more than that.”

Feeling brave with the help of the alcohol, Mina starts to leave trails of kisses along Nayeon’s long neck and stops by the lobe of her ear. She mentally thanks the gods above for this moment.

She holds Nayeon’s chin and turns her head to face her and repeats it. The low voice, the whisper, and the touch of skin.

“Turn around, beautiful.”

That’s all it took for Im Nayeon.

The constant flirting they’ve been doing since they met was already hot and this moment just fuels it even more. She doesn’t care if she’s drunk, doesn’t care if she’s sloppy. She just wants this heat to be taken care of _right now_.

Nayeon turns and straddles the girl. Mina's hands on her waist, guiding her to sit on her lap but Nayeon has a different idea. She pulls Mina’s face and kisses her.

The kiss is so greedy and the vision of Sana and Mina making out back at the party makes her want to have a taste, roam every bit of Mina’s mouth with her wet and hungry lips.

Mina lets her lead and take control. She’s enjoying this too much making her feel like she's on cloud nine.

She inhales Nayeon’s warm breath against her mouth, opening it further to deepen it. She can no longer hold in her moan, feeling Nayeon’s tongue slip into her mouth.

Both of their senses, numb due to intoxication but they can feel each other’s hands roaming in ungodly places.

Nayeon pulls away and leans her head back, allowing access for Mina to place kisses on her neck once more until she finds a specific spot to nibble on. She can feel the girl's soft tongue sweep on her skin, letting out a moan at how amazing it's making her feel. Mina is making her feel so good right now, pressing her to grab a handful of hair to pull.

Their greedy kisses soon turn into soft ones with Nayeon finally sitting on Mina’s lap, lazily kissing her.

Mina holds her by the waist and simultaneously lifts her left leg, and pushes her down on it, letting her release a soft moan against Mina’s lips.

Her body starts moving on its own and grinds on Mina’s leg.

Their kisses become greedy once more sparked by Mina’s efforts.

She rocks her hips back and forth and before she knows it, Mina is pushing her back a bit to stop what they’re doing before anything goes further which confuses her, waking her from her drunken state.

“I think we should… stop before things get a little too heated.” Mina says out of breath, looking at the girl in front of her. Her lips, red from their intense make-out session. Messy hair and their clothes disheveled.

“So you don’t want to do it?” Nayeon asks, slowly crossing her arms on her chest, embarrassed for the way she acted. She thought this is what Mina wanted too.

Mina quickly pulls her arms and puts them on her shoulders, “I mean, yes, yes, I do. I really do and I know I started it but— I don’t know. Call me a hopeless romantic or what but I want to do this the right way.”

Her embarrassment is soon taken over by the warmth of her heart. She pulls Mina closer and rests her chin on her shoulder. One of Mina's arm on her waist while the other, on the small of her back.

“Why do you want to do it right?”, Nayeon asks.

“I really want to get to know you better, Nayeon. I like being around you. And please, let me take you out. Please allow me.”

Playing with the hair on Mina’s nape, she thinks, soaking in the scent of the girl. A hint of flowers and sea salt sticks to her nose.

Nayeon closes her eyes and imagines what it would be like to have a normal life doing this and dating people without the influence of her parents or her name.

“Nayeon? Are you still with me?”, Mina’s voice distracting her from her thoughts. She hums in response and tightens her arms around the girl for comfort and security.

Nayeon asks Mina to walk her back to her room and they kept a fair distance between them. They say their goodnights and before Nayeon closes the door she goes in to hug Mina one last time and thanks her for tonight.

She tosses and turns on her bed, her thoughts on what transpired in the other girl’s room bothering her still. She’s afraid this attraction might grow into something more. Mina is gentle with her and her heart feels happy.

Never has she felt this happy again after a while.

Maybe tomorrow, she will say ‘yes’ to Mina’s date. Maybe tomorrow, she might say who she actually really is. But right now, all she knows is she has an intense hangover to nurse tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to post this on Minayeon day but Ice Cream's release is on that day too huhu but I hope you all enjoyed reading this.
> 
> p.s. yeah i had a hard time writing that make out scene. i tried my best ㅜㅜ


	7. Chapter 7

High up in the sky is the sun beaming on the beautiful shoreline of Jeju. 

Kids build sandcastles and adults lay on the beach to start a perfect day. But not for Nayeon. 

She wakes up with an intense pounding in her head. It feels like it’s being drilled right through her brain. This is probably the worst hangover she’s ever felt in her entire life. 

What’s worse is that she finds a hickey on her neck, making her shriek an octave higher than her usual range. Thousands of thoughts cross her mind. 

_A dating rumor is better than the public seeing me with a motherfucking hickey. This is scandalous!_

Sitting on the toilet, she tries to remember how the hell she managed to get that big of a bruise on her neck. It’s quite big and purple, looking fresh. Her phone rings and sees that someone has sent her a message. 

**[Mina, 12:34 pm]**

**_Hi Nayeon, I hope you slept well last night because I did ;)_ **

**_Thanks again and see you later?_ **

_Holy shit. This can’t be real._

Nayeon paces back and forth in the bathroom, staring at her phone. She massages her temple, squeezing her brain of her memory from the previous night. 

“I know Mina and I didn’t have sex but fuck! This hickey is so big!” She grabs her phone and responds to Mina.

**[Nayeon, 12:57 pm]**

**_Mina, I’m not feeling well today. Intense headache. Sorry :(_ **

**[Mina, 1:00 pm]**

**_Don’t worry about it. :)_**

She looks outside and sees that the weather looks perfect but her hangover is making her feel like shit that she just stays in and lazes on her couch with Netflix, some kimbap, and a cup of hot tea. She’s just finished watching her second movie of the day when she hears a knock on her door. 

_Hmm… weird. I didn’t call for room service._

Lo and behold, it’s Mina with a bag full of food, smoothies, some medicine, and a big smile on her face. 

Nayeon’s at a loss for words.

_This girl may be the sweetest._

She lets the girl step into her room and she quickly lays out the food on the table in front of the huge television. 

“This is perfect. You’ve already set up your Netflix. All that’s left is your hangover food.” 

Mina notices that the girl is just staring at her, so she looks up and her eyes land on the purple mark she left on her skin. Her eyes widen and she looks down again, embarrassed of what she did. 

“Uhm, I-I’m sorry for the uhm, the hickey on your neck.” 

Nayeon gives off an airy laugh. She finds it really cute that the Mina she first met was oozing with confidence and extremely flirtatious and the Mina in front of her now can’t even look her in the eyes and acts very shyly. 

“It’s okay. I never stopped you anyway”, Mina looks up to see her eye to eye, “so it’s on me. I mean, we both wanted it.” 

Nayeon gives what Mina perceives as the _deadliest wink_ she’s ever witnessed. 

“So, what’s all of these?”, Nayeon asks, sitting on a chair. 

Mina brings out a small bag of medicine and smoothie on the table. “I figured you have a bad hangover that’s why you’re skipping on me today so I did this.” She slides the medicine across the table for her to drink. Mina came prepared today because she slowly wants to win her affection. What better way to do it than through some good old TLC, right? 

This is the only time that Nayeon won’t be complaining about people serving her. 

Back in the city, Nayeon would have a number of people do things for her and she would always scold them for doing so even the little things such as taking off her coat, helping her wear her shoes, and simply even tying her shoelaces. But this time, it’s different. 

Seeing Mina do things for her, take care of her, makes her feel all mushy inside. She’s even prepared some of her favorites: abalone soup and a tub of strawberry ice cream. Her mouth hangs open at the variety of food set for her. 

“Are these all mine, Mina?” She asks, licking her lips while staring at the food. 

Her stomach’s about to grumble. She can feel it. 

Mina brings out the last container of food. It’s hot pot. 

“Uhm, we can share. I’ve got a bad hangover too.” She smiles, sitting beside the girl she’s taking care of for the day.

Nayeon plays a drama she’s been addicted to lately, Descendants of the Sun. 

Her hangover slowly fades while munching on the food Mina got her. 

Two episodes down and Mina’s already feeling drowsy. It’s not that the drama bores her. It’s honestly thrilling and the storyline's good. She’s just not really a fan of dramas. 

If she was at home curing a hangover, she’d most likely be found in front of her console playing whatever game that is trending. If not, you can find her doing some recreational activities like building a puzzle or a Lego set, or even knitting. 

Being completely full just adds to her drowsiness. Luckily, she also got coffee aside from the smoothies. 

They pause the drama for a while to clear the table of empty containers and cups and after that, they sit back down on the huge couch and continue watching. 

The air suddenly shifts.  They try to act as normal as possible as if no awkward tension surrounds them. Nayeon grabs a pillow to hold while watching which Mina notices from her peripheral vision. 

She debates with herself whether she’ll ask if she wants to cuddle or to just let this tension go on because it looks like it won’t be disappearing any time soon. 

Mina shifts in her seat and it catches Nayeon’s eye, making her raise her eyebrows at her. 

She smiles at her and asks, “Do you want to cuddle?”.

Nayeon chuckles at just how cute Mina is. 

_There’s nothing wrong if I have fun on this vacation. Just not when we get back._

That’s her plan for the next two weeks. 

“Thanks for asking and yes, I would like to cuddle.” She scoots closer to Mina, sitting in between her legs, and embraces Mina’s arms around her body. She leans her head on Mina’s shoulder and Mina places her chin on her shoulder. To make them more comfortable in their position, Nayeon intertwines their fingers. 

Deep inside, Mina wants to scream and let all her emotions out because what’s happening between her and Nayeon now is making her heart do somersaults. She can feel her cheeks heat up and her smile grow so wide that her eyes disappear. She hugs Nayeon firmly and closes her eyes to absorb every detail of the girl. From her soft skin, the fruit-like scent of her hair, and the warmth her body emits. That is until her eyes completely close and take her to dreamland. 

She’s on her twelfth episode when she hears soft snores from behind her. Mina’s fast asleep and she doesn’t know how long the girl’s been out. Nayeon suppresses the smile forming on her face. 

This moment with Mina is special. She chooses to forget all worries for now because all she feels in this moment is genuine happiness with real and unmanufactured feelings. 

Nayeon helps the girl lie down on the couch and uses her arm as her pillow so she could lie beside her. She looks at Mina and smiles her biggest smile. She once again observes the girl’s features and traces the moles on her face. 

Mina scrunches her nose at the touch and Nayeon can’t help but laugh a little at the cute girl. 

Sleep slowly gets to her and she puts her arm around Mina’s waist to help herself sleep. 

This has been one of the best sleep she's had in the past few months. With the pressure from school and her family, she hasn’t been getting much rest to finish all of the things on her daily to-do list.

* * *

The sun has already begun to set when Mina wakes up. Her arm feels a bit numb with Nayeon’s head using it as a pillow. She doesn’t complain about it but she snuggles closer to the girl, pressing her body against hers as if she’s a pillow keeping her comfortable and safe. 

It’s been a while since Mina’s last felt this way for anyone, at least the fluttering feeling. 

As for the deep feelings like falling for someone, she can’t say she’s at that level now. After all, it’s only been days since she’s gotten to know the girl. 

“Nayeon, wake up. Do you wanna have dinner outside?”, she whispers. 

The girl slowly opens her eyes and quickly sits up, “I’m sorry I used your arm as my pillow— it must have hurt.” 

Mina sits up as well and tells her that it’s alright. 

“Dinner later?”, Mina asks again. 

“Is this how you ask a girl out on a date?” Nayeon clicks her tongue and shakes her head, then smiles after to tease the girl.

Mina raises her arms in surrender, “So that’s how it is? Okay, wear something nice tonight. Dinner’s on me. I’ll pick you up in an hour.” 

Nayeon’s surprised at how things unfolded and blurts out, “That is really how you ask a girl out on a date?!”, as the door closes.  Her hands are on her temple, trying to grasp the situation. 

Even if Mina didn’t confirm anything, she’s assuming that this is going to be a date. It's just the two of them so she’s definitely sure it is.

She takes a long relaxing shower for tonight’s dinner. 

When Mina told her to dress nicely, she thought that it would be something grand. She settles with a black skirt and a long-sleeved checkered top. 

_She said ‘nicely’ so I think this wouldn’t be a problem._

A few knocks and Nayeon bolts to the door. The sight that greets her totally blows her away. Mina’s wearing a long black beach dress. Nayeon stares at the beautiful girl in front of her and mutters, “Wow, you look amazing.”

“You’re not too bad yourself. I told you to dress nicely and you outdid yourself.” Mina laughs, “Let’s go?” 

They head out and Mina hails the taxi she rented for the night, soon arriving at a fine dining restaurant in a nearby hotel. Mina offers her arm for Nayeon to hold onto while they walk around the area admiring the marvelous scene in front of them. 

She already made reservations beforehand so they take their time to observe. 

“Where did you find this Mina? Pretty romantic.” Nayeon smirks, “You prepared for this huh?”.

Mina smiles looking at the vintage structure of the hotel. “It’s our first date. I want to make a good first impression.” 

“You’re worried about it now when we’ve already established that when we were eye-fucking each other at the club?!”  Nayeon laughs, putting her head on Mina’s shoulder. 

“That’s a grave accusation, miss.” Mina smirks at the girl and slowly intertwines her fingers into hers. 

Nayeon relaxes more and feels elated that this is happening to someone like her, that a socialite like her can get to experience what normal is, e.g. these romantic and cheesy moments she sees on movies and tv shows. “I think we should head in. I’m kind of getting hungry.", she requests. 

Nayeon’s surprised to see that when they arrive at their table, the food has already been served.  


They have their own server who notifies them that they will be served a three-course meal. She looks at Mina with a sparkle in her eyes and asks, “What else do you have up your sleeve?”

“You’ll see.” Mina smirks. 

During dinner, Mina asks Nayeon about her life in school and in the city and she tries her best to answer her questions as vaguely as possible without giving away her identity. 

“You have a lot of friends in school?”, Mina asks while slicing through her steak.

“In school, I don’t consider my peers as my friends but outside, I have a few. Those people are really important to me. I’ve been friends with them since we were kids and they are the only ones who truly know me in and out. It’s better that way.” She’s glad she held herself back a bit with her answer despite wanting to tell all the details to Mina. 

The other girl felt her answers were short and hesitant so she tries to fish for more without seeming to be nosy. 

“Yeah, I totally agree with you. It is better to keep your circle small to avoid unnecessary drama. What about your family? Do you own any businesses?” 

Nayeon’s startled by her question. It’s like Mina’s slowly unlocking the key to her hidden vault that is her socialite lifestyle.  


She repositions herself in her seat, “You can say that what you said last night was right, about people majoring in business have a family business to run.” She elaborates, “That’s actually the case with me. I never really wanted to carry on what my parents started. I want to pursue a different path and make a name for myself.” 

“What were you originally planning to pursue?”

“Theater. I want to become a performer.”

“Like those in musicals and plays?”

Nayeon nods, “It’s something I dreamed of doing since I was young. I took dance and singing lessons back then but as I got older, my parents saw me more of as their employee than a daughter I guess.”

Mina frowns at Nayeon’s responses and sympathizes with her. She understands what she’s been going through. 

“Is it okay if I give you a piece of advice? Maybe it can work with your current situation.” 

“Sure, be my guest.”

“But I’m your date.” Mina kids just to lighten up the mood and Nayeon gives out an airy laugh, “Anyway, I think you should still fight for it. I think it’s still not too late for them to change their minds once they see that a different path is meant for you.” 

Nayeon smiles sadly at Mina for trying.

“You don’t know my family, Mina. It’s— they’re strict. Besides, my younger sister is still too young to understand everything even if I pass it on to her. I just really have to endure this life.” 

Mina grabs Nayeon’s hand on the table to comfort her. Just by that, she can make her feel that she’s not facing this battle alone. 

“It’s not too late, Nayeon. And you have your friends along the way. And also me.” 

Feeling more secure, she tightens her grip on Mina’s hand. She thanks her for listening and for encouraging her to do what she thinks is right for herself. 

For the rest of dinner, Nayeon and Mina talk about the Japanese girl's life in Seoul and how she adapted to a new environment. 

“Sana and I didn’t really have a hard time adjusting here since back in our school in Japan, we took Korean and English lessons so we easily adjusted when we arrived.”

“How about the money? Was it an issue?”

“It wasn’t for me. My parents supported me in transferring and they send money to me every now and then aside from my own money. I’m an adventurous girl and I want to experience things like a local so I looked for a job. Right now, I’m a barista at a coffee shop in Apgujeong.” Mina proudly says. 

Nayeon smirks at the girl, “Maybe next time, I should drop by that coffee shop before going to school.” 

“I agree, that would be a great start to my day. Just imagine, me serving you my specialty made with love.”

After dinner, Mina takes Nayeon to a nearby beach with a flask full of hot chocolate. The perfect company for a windy night. 

They sit on a bench under the shining moonlight of Jeju Island.  


Nayeon thinks that this has been the most romantic thing she’s ever experienced. It's not the usual thing she experiences wherein if someone courts her, her date will either take her on a yacht in the middle of the sea, a dinner to Paris right on the spot, or a very expensive one at a five-star restaurant. 

What Mina does is pretty standard for most but for her, it's the most romantic. 

She looks at Mina who’s pouring her a cup of their drink and smiles, warmth invades her body. Her heart feels warm that she encountered such a person. 

The night goes on with Mina talking about their family business and how she knew that it wasn’t meant for her. 

“When I was around eight, Sana’s parents invited me to watch a ballet performance because her mom was a huge fan of it. It’s more like Sana forced me to come with them so that she doesn’t bore herself to death in the theater. She still actually ended up getting bored because I was so invested with the performances that when I got home after that, I told my parents to enroll me at a ballet school and they did.” Mina says, “They thought that it was just a hobby for me but ballet isn’t just a hobby. It helps improve my well-being— like meditation.” 

Nayeon listens patiently and finds herself admiring how brave Mina was for pursuing something she is passionate about. She respects her for that. 

“I’m sure everything wasn’t easy with you growing up and you endured it all. Cheers to that.” 

They clink their cups and drink up. 

“Before I forget, what are your plans for tomorrow?” 

“I just want to read a book and relax on the beach.”

“Do you want to swim with me then?” 

Nayeon gulps. Something she keeps from everyone including her closest friends is that she doesn’t know how to swim. Even her parents are not aware of it. 

If you’ll think about it, how did a rich girl like her not even once thought about getting swimming lessons? Her excuse? 

_Swimming pool water is too dirty for me. Seawater is full of dirt but maybe I can just dip my toes and legs for a bit._

“Nayeon? You zoned out there for a bit.” Mina asks noticing how she’s staring into space. 

“Yeah, sure. We won’t take long right? I need to not get tanned or else my parents will kill me.” 

“Huh? Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?” Mina nervously laughs. 

_Oh shit._

“Of course, I am! Why would my parents reprimand me for a simple thing such as that, right?” Nayeon excuses, hoping Mina buys that alibi. That may be a small detail for her but if she must admit, she’s afraid that she may never stop exposing herself more. 

_Nayeon, you need to be more careful._

“It’s official then. Tomorrow is our second date.” Mina gives her a cocky smile. 

Nayeon is once again surprised by Mina. She really is persistent, making her want to root for the girl even more. 

The butterflies in her stomach make her forget about her worries and says ‘yes’. 

They finish the rest of the hot chocolate with Nayeon’s head resting on Mina’s shoulder and their fingers intertwined under the shining moonlight.  _Nothing more like a scene from a romantic movie_ , Nayeon thinks. This is all she could truly ask for. 

On their way back to the hotel, not once did Nayeon let go of Mina’s hand. She melts inside with every sweet action Mina does. 

“Thank you for today, Mina. It was fun spending time with you. Pick me up at four in the afternoon tomorrow?” Nayeon asks in a bashful manner, giving Mina doe eyes which captures her heart even more. 

“Why not in the morning?”, Mina asks. 

Nayeon looks down at her feet, embarrassed to admit the reason why she won’t be available but she opts in telling Mina the truth. 

“I have a family meeting in the morning. It’s really important.” 

Mina’s surprised to know that Nayeon is a part of those strict families. It kind of reminds her of how her family was to her before going to Seoul. 

“Your family _is_ one of those. That’s okay, I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Nayeon nods. 

Mina felt a bit discouraged when Nayeon admitted it. Getting involved with someone like her with a strict family background, especially a business major, is a bad thing. She should know, she’d been there. 

She tries imagining what would happen if she pursues Nayeon even more and when she gets to meet her family. Will they like her? Will they reject her? These are the thoughts running in Mina’s mind in those few seconds of silence between them. She gets pulled back to reality when she feels hands grip her shoulders and warm lips touch her left cheek.

“Good night, Mina. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”, and the door closes. 

The last thing she saw prior was a bright bunny smile from the girl she likes. 

_Likes_. 

She walks back to her room with the biggest smile yet. The dejection she felt, gone and all she thinks about is how warm and fuzzy Nayeon is making her feel. 

She does like her.

* * *

It’s seven in the morning and Nayeon finds herself neatly seated on her couch. 

Her iPad is placed on the table with her cup of coffee and a plate of salad beside it. 

She dabs a bit of her lip tint on her cheek to make her look more lively when she’s feeling the complete opposite. 

Jeongyeon texted her the agenda for today’s family meeting. Another issue about the Im Enterprises has spread across different industries. Nayeon wouldn’t know as she hasn’t opened any newspaper since she has left the city. She is sure her parents will let— no, force her to handle this. Said issue is that their competitor has intel that their company is using a stolen blueprint in a new component they are developing.

After her date with Mina last night, she read the message and it kept her up for a few hours, thinking thoroughly about how she will try to alleviate the issue. She’s thought of all possible damage controls with the details given by Jeongyeon. 

Her iPad rings and she sees her entire family on the screen looking dashing as always. They’re in her father’s workspace in the house. 

_ “Hi, unnie! How’s your vacation going?”  _ Seoyeon, her younger sister, greets her. 

She waves at the camera,  “Good morning, everyone! My vacation’s great so far. What seems to be the problem now?” 

_“We have a problem, Nayeon.”_ Her father begins explaining, “ _The Chois will be publishing something soon according to our sources and what they will publish will taint our reputation and credibility as one of the biggest electronic companies in this country.”_

She can see her father massage the sides of his temple while her mother consoles him on the side. 

_“We need you to make it to the news. Your sister will be a part of the main act in a major recital in two weeks. That will keep the public talking so we want you to be out and about making it to the news with whatever it is that will get the attention on you until we find who the culprit is in spreading this ridiculous rumor.”_ Her mother explains. 

Nayeon’s shocked that she's been given some sort of liberty in this mishap. At least she gets to choose how she’ll get the public’s attention on her. A lot of quick and easy ideas pop into her head. Ones that may involve a certain girl with a gummy smile. 

“I have some ideas in mind that can help get the attention on me. I’ll handle this, mom.”

_“As long as it’s neutral or positive only. You know we can’t afford to have any of you be in a bad light.”_ , her mom says, reminding her of how her family’s reputation is more important than anything.

Even if Nayeon’s family is all about business, her parents still make sure that they’re still somehow a normal family. 

With Nayeon keeping her word in handling the situation, they close off that agenda for this meeting and talk about what they’ve been up to recently. 

She smiles at her parents’ efforts to make them feel that they’re a family and not as business units. 

Seoyeon excitedly tells her of the recital she’ll be participating in. She says she’s been practicing hard lately with her group. 

Her parents ask her how she’s holding up on her solo trip and she tells them that she’s met some great people and that they’re treating her well. 

_“We’re happy you’ve met some wonderful people there, honey. Have you met someone there who you could possibly take home for us to meet?”,_ Her father cheekily asks. 

She tries to feel the situation first before answering because she knows that this is a trick question. Her father loves that. 

“I may have met someone here but I’m not yet sure if I’ll be taking her home soon.” She laughs explaining but all she got in return was silence. 

Her father clears his throat and tilts his head, _“Did I hear that right? You said her?”_. 

Nayeon adjusts herself in her seat, answering sternly, “Yes, the someone I met is a her. Will that be a problem, _dad_?” 

Her father looks to her mother with wide eyes and whispers, _“Are you going to allow this?”_ , but Nayeon perfectly hears every word mouthed. 

Seoyeon cuts in, “I hope I get to meet her soon, unnie. Does she make you happy?” 

Her mother stares at her through the screen waiting for her response. 

She says, “Honestly, yes. So far, everything’s going well between me and her. I sure hope you get to meet her soon, Seoyeon.” 

Her mother may sometimes be controlling to the two of them when business is involved but as a mother, she wants nothing but happiness for both of her daughters. 

Hearing her response puts a smile on her face. _“I’m glad you’re happy right now, my dear. I just want you to be wise with the decisions you make. Your father and I only want what’s best for you and your sister.”_

Nayeon’s never felt lighter after today’s family meeting. She finishes her salad and coffee on a lighter note. She still can’t believe that _that_ happened. 

_The universe must be working in my favor right now_. 

She gives her mom the most genuine smile ever, “I know, mom. And if I do make any mistakes, I’ll learn from them so as not to commit them again. Experience is the best teacher, after all, right?” 

The family meeting turned virtual family breakfast ended and they wished Nayeon to enjoy the rest of her vacation. 

She turns off her iPad and takes away her empty plate and cup. 

Every meeting with them drains the hell out of her and this one is no different but she feels the good kind of drained like something positive came out of it. How she casually talked about how she’s getting to know a girl and none of her family members acted hostile towards her is something she’s extremely happy about. That just means that she’s basically out of the closet to her parents. 

She hopes this will continue until they meet Mina, that is if they even continue this thing they have until they go back to the city.

Nayeon decides to take a nap before her date. They actually did not settle on a time to meet up. She thinks it will probably be in the afternoon, nonetheless, she proceeds with napping. 

On the floor below Nayeon, a girl stares at her watch debating on what time she’ll pick up her date and where they’ll go. 

Mina didn’t actually plan anything for today but she did wake up early to research where else she can take the girl after this date—someplace else for the next coming days. She keeps tabs of a few places to go to on her phone’s notes. 

She rolls on her bed and checks again the time. 

_3:15 pm. Maybe I should go and pick her up._

She  grabs her backpack and walks to Nayeon’s room. 

She’s been outside the girl’s room for about ten minutes now, knocking every now and then, hoping she would be heard. 

A light switched in her head and remembered that she has Nayeon’s number saved in her phone. 

A few rings in and she hears rapid stomping on the other side of the door. 

“Mina, you’re already here?!” 

Nayeon opens the door and lets her in, not even bothering to close it for her as she made a run to the bathroom to fix herself. 

Mina closes the door and sits on the couch comfortably. She asks with a raised voice, “You forgot about our date huh?”. 

Nayeon opens the door a bit to respond to her. “No, I didn’t! I just fell asleep after the meeting.” 

Mina’s just teasing Nayeon because she likes how the girl gets when she’s being defensive. Even if she can’t see her expression, she can definitely picture the girl with wide eyes and her mouth forming a small ‘o’ showing her bunny teeth.

She smiles widely at the vision and her eyes grow bigger when she sees the girl emerge from the bathroom looking like a total goddess in her cute sundress and white cardigan. 

All Mina does is stare, not being able to utter any word. Not even a sound. She is completely mesmerized by the girl in front of her that her heart swells with joy. 

Nayeon clears her throat to get her attention. “You know it’s rude to stare.”

Mina shakes her head, “Oh sorry, I spaced out for a second. I was thinking about… uhm, our food. To eat… At the beach.”

“Are you sure it’s not the sight of me that’s making you speechless?”, she smirks. 

_What a fucking tease._

“Wow, you’re really a confident girl. Why am I so attracted to you?” Mina asks with the last sentence coming out as a whisper. 

Nayeon pretends she didn’t hear it but instead turns around to grab her bag to hide the blush forming on her face. 

“I’m all set. Let’s go! ” 

As soon as they step on the sand, the warm summer air greets them. 

Mina lays out a huge towel and takes off her beach shorts. She gives Nayeon a nod to let her know that she’s ready to swim with her. 

Nayeon stares at the ground and slowly takes off her sundress. She starts feeling nervous about the idea of getting knee-deep in the water and all daunting thoughts about sharks and jellyfish stings run in her mind. 

Mina notices how pale Nayeon’s face turned when she started putting her stuff in her bag so she holds her hand to calm her, to let her know that she won’t let anything bad happen to her. She drags her to the shore and starts walking in the water. 

“The water feels a bit cold today. Get in here now!”, Mina laughs splashing her a bit. 

“I can’t. You should go ahead. I think I’m good with just sitting here.” 

Nayeon sits on the ground and starts playing with the sand.

Mina walks back to her, “What do you mean you can’t? We’re not gonna go that far. Come on!”, she says grabbing Nayeon’s hand, pulling her into the water.  Nayeon tugs her hand but Mina’s grip on her is tight. 

“Mina, I said I can’t.” 

They continue to pull until Nayeon falls flat on the ground. 

“Ah!”

“Nayeon, I’m sorry! Are you alright?”

“I told you I’m good with just staying here!”

Mina sits beside her. “I’m sorry. If you want to stay here, we can stay here. Do you want me to get you anything?”

Nayeon sighs and buries her face in her hands. 

“Ahh, I’m sorry for yelling. I just— I can’t go in the water.” 

Mina places her hand on the small of her back to comfort her. 

“What’s keeping you from going, if I may ask?” 

She looks at the body of water in front of her and whispers, “I don’t know how to swim.” 

Mina smiles because Nayeon’s just the cutest, feeling embarrassed with that. 

Don’t get Mina wrong, she totally gets why the girl would act that way. 

In a way to sympathize with her, she holds her hand and intertwines their fingers for assurance. 

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. It’s perfectly fine. I can teach you.” 

Nayeon looks at her with a frown, “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden to you.” 

Mina chuckles at that and bumps her shoulder onto hers. 

“Trust me, Nayeon. You’re not. I don’t think you ever will be.”, she winks.

They both stand and walk to the water slowly. 

Mina leads the way, walking backward, and holding both of Nayeon’s hands like a mother assisting a toddler in her first steps. 

Nayeon laughs at her gesture, “You can let go now, Mina. I’m not a baby.” 

She raises both hands and walks back further until the water level is just above her chest, holding out her hand for Nayeon to hold onto. Thankfully, she grabs it once panic started to kick in. She quickly embraces her, feeling scared of the water that’s reaching up to her neck. 

“Mina, I can feel something on my leg! Don’t let go of me!” 

Mina can feel her racing heart through her bathing suit and she holds her tightly. 

“That's probably just a seaweed. Don't worry, I won’t let you go. Just breathe in and out. I got you.” 

Nayeon does as she’s told and her once-racing heart is back to its normal rhythm. 

Mina floats around with Nayeon clinging onto her. She lets out a few little screams when she feels that Mina swims too fast and moves a lot. 

“I’m gonna let go of you slowly okay?”

Nayeon whines, “You said you won’t let go!”

Mina firmly places her hands on Nayeon’s sides and pulls her away gently. 

“How am I supposed to teach you then?” 

With that, Nayeon wraps both of her legs on Mina’s waist to stop her from pulling her away, “I’m not yet ready!”.

Hearing Nayeon yell like that stops her and puts the girl's hands back to where they should be— around her neck. She clings onto her again and hears sniffles from her. 

Feeling a bit guilty, she hugs Nayeon tightly and starts rubbing her thumbs on the girl to help calm her down. 

“I’m sorry. I’ll just float around to make you feel more comfortable in the water.”

She feels the girl nod on her shoulder. 

After a few minutes of floating around, Mina walks nearer to the shore, and let’s go of Nayeon. 

They walk back to their stuff on the beach and rest. Nayeon grabs a towel to dry herself and opens a bottle of soda. Mina does the same and sits down, staring at the girl. 

She hasn’t said a word since that event in the water and Mina feels nothing more but guilt for making her cry. 

First, she lets her fall to the ground. Second, she makes her cry while trying to teach her how to swim. Was she being forceful? Or was Nayeon just having a bad day and it just so happens that she’s at the receiving end of it?  So Mina breaks the ice. 

“Nayeon? I’m sorry if I seemed to be pushy a while ago. Please know that that wasn’t my intention at all.” 

Nayeon turns away from her. 

_Good god, why is this girl putting my feelings first?_ _I don’t deserve her._

“Mina, I know and I should be the one who is supposed to be sorry.” 

Mina frowns at her and moves closer, putting an arm on her waist and holds her hand. “What do you mean? It’s not your fault.” 

Nayeon plays with her fingers and begins opening up about why she acted like that in the water. 

“I’m afraid of going deep in the water not because I don’t know how to swim but because I drowned when I was a kid.” 

Mina feels her heart sink and she cradles her even more, to comfort her after hearing that tragedy. 

“I have a younger sister. One time, when we were both left alone, I wanted to show her that I’m a good sister by giving her a tour of the house. I was holding her hand and I walked her around the house telling her the functions of each room. When we got to the backyard, I walked to our shed to get her miniature car and the moment I walk back to her, she was making her way to the pool. I ran as fast as I can to stop her from falling. I pushed her out of the way and I ended up falling in the pool. I was glad it was me instead of her. I wouldn’t want anything harmful to happen to her. All I remember was seeing her cry her heart out and with the remaining breath I have, I yelled for help then I blacked out.”—Mina intertwines her hand in Nayeon’s and holds it close to her face as she listens intently to her—“I thought it was the end of me. Luckily, I still woke up. The sight I first saw were my parents crying over me and Seoyeon, my sister, was hugging me tightly. This happened when I was around ten and she was five.” 

Mina kisses the back of Nayeon’s hand and says, “We still have at least two weeks on this island. I could teach you how to swim and help you get over your fear and I’m all in for that.” 

Nayeon smiles at her, one that could melt your heart together with those doe eyes. She’s definitely willing to go all-in for her. 

* * *

They spend the next few days at the beach and the pool area of the hotel every night so Mina could teach Nayeon how to swim. 

She’s slowly becoming more comfortable in the water.

The lessons start off with Nayeon laying her back on the water and Mina placing her hands under her to assist her in floating. She teaches her different techniques on how to stay afloat calmly. 

“First of all, you need to relax. Just breathe. Second, try moving your arms and legs around. Just small movements will do. This actually helps me relax more.” 

Nayeon tries doing the techniques with her eyes closed. At first, she panicked a bit because she felt Mina let go of her slowly but she remembered the first step then proceeded to do the second. It is kind of relaxing. It’s sort of like a healing practice for her, similar to just laying in the bathtub with warm water running. 

“Alright, there you go! You look peaceful. I guess my job here is done.”

“No, it’s not! I still don’t know how to swim.” 

Nayeon breaks from her position to stand and crosses her arms on her chest with a pout. 

Mina walks up to her and grabs her cheeks with both hands. 

“Oh? Are you sure? I think you can do it on your own now.”, she laughs. 

Nayeon sticks out her lower lip more.

“Please, babe?”

Mina’s brain malfunctions for a second at the sound of the pet name. 

Is Nayeon teasing her? She hopes that she is but at the same time, she hopes that she means it. 

Still holding Nayeon’s cheeks, she leans in so close to her face and wets her lips while staring right into her eyes. 

“Call me babe one more time and I’ll consider it.” 

This time, it’s Nayeon who is dumbfounded. She feels hot with the way Mina licked her lips and how her warm breath touched her. She stares at Mina’s lips and back again at her eyes, then once more at her lips. 

Mina notices and places her hands from her face down to her sides. 

She feels that something’s about to happen between them. 

Nayeon places her hands around her neck and leans in. Their lips brush and before they could begin what they were about to do, Mina’s phone rings. It’s a specific ringtone she only set for one of her family members. Her dad. 

She clears her throat and pulls away, “I, uhm, better answer that. It’s my dad.” 

Nayeon lets her go and walks to the pool’s stairs to sit. 

“Hey Dad, what’s up?”, Mina answers. 

The rest of the conversation is done in Japanese so there is no way Nayeon would understand anything that Mina said except maybe for ‘konbanwa’ and ‘oyasuminasai’. 

She props her elbows on the stairs waiting for her and decides to contemplate on her feelings towards the girl. As of now, what Nayeon can confirm is that she likes the energy she gets from Mina.

“Don’t tell me you already told your dad about us.” Nayeon teases and sticks her tongue out. 

Mina walks back to her with a gummy smile and places both hands on the stairs, trapping her in between. 

“So where were we, _babe_?” 

“Come here and you’ll find out.”

Mina leans closer and from a propped position, Nayeon wraps her arms around Mina’s neck for an embrace and crashes her lips onto hers. 

Nayeon’s lips are warm as they move against hers. 

She nibbles on her bottom lip, sucking, causing her brain to shut down for a moment, then goes back to kissing her. This time, softly. 

Nayeon tilts her head to the side to grant Mina’s tongue access into her mouth, allowing her to explore it more similar to what they have done that night after drinking in Sana’s room. 

They both pull away and rest their foreheads against each other, both catching their breaths. Nayeon stares into Mina’s eyes and smiles.

“When’s our next date?” 

“I have something in mind. Of course, I won’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading and once again, i hope you liked this chapter! i plan to post updates on a weekly basis if i'm not that busy hahaha
> 
> let me know your thoughts on this!
> 
> don't forget to stream TWICE's More & More Eng. version and Blackpink's Ice Cream!!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Nayeon month!!!

It’s ten in the morning and Nayeon paces back and forth in her room, looking for an outfit for her date with Mina today.

The girl told her to wear something comfortable and nice.

What is comfortable and nice for a socialite like her? Is it a De La Renta dress? A Louis Vuitton one? Or a Marc Jacobs?

She dives in deeper into her luggage and luckily found her favorite Gucci denim vest. She pairs it with a white shirt and a pair of black shorts.

Nice and comfortable.

After eating some fruits, she hears Mina knock on her door.

Mina greets her a ‘good morning’ and she lets her in. She’s just finishing up her make-up for the day before heading out.

They reach the parking lot and Nayeon’s surprised to see Mina pull out some keys from her pocket.

“Hold on, are you telling me you know how to drive all along?”

Mina shakes the keys in her hands before pressing the unlock button on the remote.

“Yup! Why?”

Nayeon waves her hands animatedly expressing her frustration, “We could’ve rented a car all along instead of taking the bus or walking.”

They both get in with Mina placing her things in the backseat.

“Imagine if we took a car, then we wouldn’t have those fun moments together.”

“If we rented a car, imagine all the fun things we could have done… privately.”, Nayeon says, leaning towards a stunned Mina with her elbow resting on the center console.

She looks at the girl’s lips but tilts her head to the side and plants a kiss on her cheek, “Let’s go, Minari?”

Mina shakes her head and nods, then proceeds to start the engine.

The drive to the restaurant Mina’s planning on taking Nayeon was around an hour and a half. Fortunately, she brought some kimbap and watermelon shakes with her.

Nayeon’s feeling quite comfortable with casually feeding Mina and holding up the drink to her mouth while she focuses her eyes on the road—tries her best to focus on the road instead of the sweet gestures of the girl.

They park the car on the side of the road every now and then to take some pictures of the wonderful sceneries.

Nayeon brings out her film camera and cuddles up to Mina for a selfie. Mina also does the same with hers.

The enthusiasm to capture these moments with Nayeon is all caught on film. Because memories last more on film.

The restaurant Mina chose was beside the sea just right across the road and the two walk in with arms linking.

“Table for two by the windows, please.”

A server assists them to their seats and hands them a menu.

Before Nayeon could even take a look at the menu, Mina grabs it from her.

“Ah-ah-ah, I’ve already something prepared. You just sit there and wait for the food.”, she winks.

The world went completely silent as Nayeon observes the girl sitting right across her, telling the server their food choices for lunch. She observes her beautiful smile, the way her doe eyes look at her once in a while, and how she brushes her fingers onto hers, attempting to hold her hand without becoming a fluttering mess.

Nayeon confronts her feelings and tells herself, _maybe I am starting to like her._

She forgets who she is for a moment. All she has are these feelings that she wants to bottle up, which she doesn’t. At least for now because her heart is more powerful than the one in her head telling her to stop.

The food placed on the table breaks her from her daze.

“Thank you for the food. We’ll eat this well!”, Mina says and bows at the server.

“These all look so good. Is this abalone soup?”

“Yes, it is. I heard that Jeju’s famous for its abalones.”

“Abalone soup is my favorite dish.”

“It is? Holy shit, I’m amazing.”

Nayeon laughs at her.

Mina’s amazed to see how she’s devouring her food, her poise completely out of the window.

When they step out of the restaurant, Nayeon rubs her hands on her arms because of the cold wind. It just isn’t really that hot on this side of the island or maybe it's because they're much nearer by the sea? She wraps herself with her arms to fight off the cool wind.

They get inside the car and Mina hands her a button-down shirt.

“What’s this for?”

Mina grabs the shirt and covers her with it.

“I saw you got cold when we got out of the restaurant. There, to keep you warm.”

Nayeon feels shy and faces the window to hide her blush and huge smile.

Mina looks at her with a gummy smile and starts driving to their next destination. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive from where they are.

With how she failed in holding Nayeon’s hand in the restaurant, Mina tries her luck inside the car.

Nayeon’s arm is rested on the center console and she tries swooping her hand into hers smoothly. She succeeds and smiles widely with her eyes still on the road.

Nayeon has this habit of rubbing her thumb on the hand of the person she’s holding, regardless if the person is her friend or lover.

It’s a sign that she’s already comfortable with you and Mina just experienced it for the first time.

Nayeon is looking out her window, admiring the beauty of Jeju Island as they pass by tall trees and grasslands. She starts rubbing her thumb as she hums to the song playing on the radio. She soon spots a row of beautiful flowers on the side of the road and taps Mina’s hand with her thumb.

“Mina, let’s take a picture there! The flowers look amazing.”

Mina obliges and parks the car on the side. They both take out their film cameras and start taking pictures.

Normally, people would take pictures of wonderful landscapes such as this if given the chance but for Mina, it’s not the landscape that caught her eyes. It’s the beauty that is Nayeon who she thinks is among the flowers—no, scratch that—who is much more blooming than the flowers the girl is admiring.

“Take a picture of me here. Make sure all the flowers behind me can be seen.” Nayeon says, giving her film camera for Mina to use.

***SNAP***

“What ‘flowers’ were you saying? I don’t see any flowers behind you.”, Mina asks.

Nayeon’s eyebrows meet in confusion.

_What the hell is she on?_

“Uhm, Mina? What are you saying? We literally parked the car to take pictures with the flowers.”

“Is that so? I really don’t see any other flowers here.”, Mina shrugs and walks to Nayeon to hand back her camera. “I only see one flower here and it’s you.”, she says coolly then walks back to the car, leaving a startled girl behind.

She smiles smugly because of how well-delivered her line was and right now, she's sure that Nayeon’s face looks priceless.

The line caused Nayeon’s entire body to freeze into place. Not the bad kind but the good one. She thinks that Mina definitely knows where to push her buttons to be a mess like this.

She opens her mouth to say something but closes it right away when she starts to feel the warmth in her cheeks. She exhales and follows Mina back to the car.

They finally reach their destination.

“No way, Mina! I’ve been wanting to go here since I was young.”

She reads the sign ‘MAZELAND’. 

Since she was a kid, all Nayeon wanted was a regular childhood where she could play on the playground, get her hands and clothes dirty, play in parks, and whatnot. But since then, all she did was study and learn the tropes of the family business, take etiquette lessons, and to socialize with children like her who only talk about money. The normality she aspired to have was because she grew alongside Jeongyeon who is living a very typical life until the fire happened.

Speaking of, she can't wait to tell and brag to Jeongyeon about all the fun things she did.

Mina pays for their tickets and Nayeon immediately grabs the map from her hold, too excited to begin their adventure for today.

Nayeon leads the way and they start with the bushy maze first.

To make it more exciting, Mina grabs the map from Nayeon and throws it in the trash bin, making the girl scream in terror.

“Why would you do that?!”

Mina holds her stomach from laughing too hard at how the girl is overreacting.

“That’s the thrill of it! We’re gonna try to get out of this maze without a map. I’m sure we’re gonna have lots of fun.”

The terrified girl walks quickly, leaving her behind.

“And if I don’t have fun, what are you gonna do about that?”, she frowns.

Mina catches up on her big steps and matches her pace.

“Then I’ll spend the rest of our time in Jeju making it up to you.”, she smiles.

_God, that gummy smile. Who am I kidding, she’s so cute. I can’t handle this._

“Deal.”

Walking around a maze without a map has its perks and Nayeon can attest to that with the rolls of films she has just consumed (around three) and they’re just in their first maze. They still have two more mazes left and she only has five rolls left. She needs to save some more for _special occasions_.

Yes, special occasions. Especially now with Mina around.

Mina tries leading, guessing the turns in the maze towards the exit.

Observing their previous failed turns and the shapes of the bushes, Mina thinks rationally so they can finally get out and move on to the other maze.

She lets her hand pass along the bushes and looks intently at the ground and their surroundings, squinting her eyes to help her decide on their next move. She hums and Nayeon swears it is the most attractive hum she’s ever seen a person do.

 _If ‘attractive’ is a person, it would definitely be Mina_ , she thinks. She nods and agrees more with herself.

“Let’s take a left. I’m pretty sure the exit’s there.” Mina says, holding Nayeon’s hand.

And voila, the girl is right. The exit is indeed right there.

They sit on a nearby bench to rest for a bit before taking on the challenge of the second maze without a map.

Nayeon takes out her phone and takes a few selfies from different angles.

Mina sees her struggle in getting the right angle and chuckles. She slowly peeks in the shots and the vain girl did not seem to mind at all.

She wraps her arm around Nayeon’s waist for another set of pictures.

If strangers happen to notice the two, they would assume that they’re a couple. An actual couple.

Nayeon checks the images and smiles at the photo where she kissed Mina on the cheek and her shocked face was all caught on camera. She laughs even more when she zooms in on the mark she left on the girl's cheek. 

"We look cute here.", Mina whispers as she looks at the screen from Nayeon's shoulder. 

"I agree but the lipstick mark on your cheek is cuter.", Nayeon laughs, cupping the girl's cheeks with both hands as she wipes off the mark using her thumb.

Nayeon insists that there really are sparkles in Mina's eyes with the way she is staring at her.

Mina leans in for a bit, feeling the girl's warm breath touch her lips.

She cuts in, "Let's go to that second maze, shall we?" 

They enter the second maze, the one with the stones, which is the easiest one for them out of the three.

Nayeon volunteers to lead the way this time. She may or may not want to impress someone with her rational thinking and leadership skills.

And at an impressive rate, they finish it in under twenty minutes only, and to think that the time for taking pictures is also included in that. Mina was beyond impressed and more swooned at that side of Nayeon she just witnessed.

The last maze was what stressed them out the most. They spent most of their time in that maze bickering because Nayeon was starting to get irritated due to her hunger.

One thing Nayeon's friends know of her is that if she is hungry, people need to get out of her way, or else, you’ll get eaten up by her anger.

“I told you, we’ve already tried this turn. It’s a fucking dead end, Mina.” Nayeon rolls her eyes.

“Sorry! I didn’t know. I was so busy thinking of how we can get out. Maybe that’s what you should do too, you know? Think?!” Mina counters, matching the irritation in the girl’s voice.

It was a wrong move and Mina realized too late when Nayeon stomps to lead. Mina slaps her forehead for her stupidity and runs after the girl, scared she might lose her in the maze.

She yells her name, “Nayeon! Wait, I’m sorry!”.

Dead ends after dead ends and still no sight of Nayeon.

Mina slightly panics inside and runs around until she sees the girl walking slowly with her arms crossed to her chest.

She runs to her and hugs her from behind.

“Nayeon! Thank God I found you. I got so scared when I lost you. I’m sorry for what I said.”

The girl pulls away and looks at her with a pout.

“I have a hotdog if you want.”

Mina takes out the snack and the girl quickly opens it like she’s been starved for weeks.

Nayeon is just hungry, Mina concludes because she’s now back to her bubbly self after eating. Mina relaxes and they continue the hunt for the maze’s exit.

Once they are done with the maze, they head to the maze's restaurant with a rooftop overlooking the entire landscape.

Nayeon stares at how amazing everything looks from where she is standing.

The mountains nearby relax her and she takes in a huge amount of fresh air for more satisfaction. She forgets about her family and problems since she started going out with Mina.

As for her feelings, she sets them aside first. She’s happy now and that’s important. The unresolved feelings can wait.

Mina stands beside her and looks at her with longing eyes. She really likes this girl.

They still have a lot to learn about each other but the happiness she gets just by being around her is out of this world.

At this moment, Mina doesn’t think. She acts on her feelings.

“Nayeon”, she calls and the girl looks at her with raised eyebrows, “you look really beautiful.”

She tucks the girl’s loose hair behind her ear and she holds her face with her right hand, looking straight into her eyes with a gummy smile. She leans in and plants a soft kiss on her heart-shaped lips.

Nayeon’s breath hitches and she blacks out for a while due to the warmth building up inside her.

She finally grasps the situation and panics. 

_What the hell, why did she do that?_

With everything happening in Nayeon's life, this thing with Mina is becoming so real and it scares her that one day, this will all be gone. Maybe she's confused about how she will handle this situation? She wants it but how will she manage it once the vacation is over?

When the air started to feel a bit awkward with no reaction coming from her, Mina pulls away. She can’t look her in the eyes and takes a step back to let both of them breathe.

_Maybe it was too much? Or just wasn’t the right time?_

Nayeon gulps and looks at Mina. She thinks, _ah, fuck it_ and wraps her arms around Mina’s neck to pull her in for a kiss. It took both of them by surprise.

Mina thinks that she already ruined their date by her move but she smiles into Nayeon’s kiss and moves her lips to reciprocate her action.

Nayeon pulls away and smiles her biggest smile and continues to hug the girl.

* * *

The drive to their next destination was dead silent.

Nayeon’s sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat and Mina’s on her third cup of coffee for the day to keep herself awake for the drive.

She jams out to the songs playing on the radio and when that particular song from that girl group she follows plays, her heart suddenly warmed. The lyrics are speaking for her.

_Even if the far and long road is difficult_

_Even if it is a road that is as dark as a cave_

_I want to know your world, oh_ ****

She sings the entire song as if she’s letting Nayeon know of her feelings for her.

Nayeon hears some singing and wakes a bit but her eyes still remain closed. The voice is so angelic that she thinks that maybe she is in heaven but then she realized that she’s still with Mina. Hearing the girl’s soft voice puts her back to sleep. She wakes up when she feels Mina unbuckle her seatbelt and asks, “We’re already here?”.

Mina removes the keys and unlocks their doors.

“Yeah, we’re at the restaurant already. I got a table for us and the food’s already being prepared.”

Nayeon blinks at her, a bit confused. “You did all that while I was asleep?”

Mina nods. 

This girl just continues to impress Nayeon. 

Dinner was simple and full of laughter, like the bickering and awkwardness from a while ago disappeared.

Nayeon shares to Mina of the times she tried her hand at cooking.

Mina’s favorite one was the upside-down knife story.

“That seriously could have harmed you, you know.” Mina slaps her thigh while laughing, trying to suppress it so as not to disturb the other diners.

“I know! But if you were there, you wouldn’t be able to tell as well where the sharp end was!”, she defends.

“You’re really lucky your best friend was there to help you. I don't even want to imagine the number of strawberries you wasted.”, Mina frowns.

Nayeon grabs a piece of pork and wraps it in lettuce.

“At least, I have a legendary moment.” She shoves the food in her mouth, not caring about how she looks and Mina is quick to take a snap of her with her cheeks full of food, with a piece of the lettuce dangling from her mouth. She just shrugs and laughs it off.

On the way back to the restaurant’s parking lot is a long pathway overlooking a cliff. The crashing of the waves below and the swaying tall grass beside serve as their lullaby as they make their way back to the car, hand in hand.

“You told me a few days ago that you took some singing lessons when you were a kid. Is it too much to ask if I ask you to sing something for me?” Mina asks.

“Hmm… If I sing, will you show me some ballet moves?” Nayeon challenges.

Mina laughs and nods her head, “Okay to be fair, I will.”

Nayeon claps and leans her back on the railing, pondering on which song she should sing.

 _Maybe I should sing the one I heard in the car_.

Mina snakes her arms around Nayeon’s waist and rests her chin on the girl’s shoulder, planting a kiss on the spot.

Nayeon smiles and sighs in contentment, “Don’t expect anything okay? My voice isn’t that good and I don’t know the lyrics so I’m just gonna hum and say a bunch of words.”

“I’m sure that whatever it is, I’ll end up liking it.” Mina admits. ****

She begins to hum a familiar song and Mina begins to sway them sideways.

It’s a song close to her aside from it being one of her favorite group’s songs but it’s actually the song that she listens to when she feels sad, like the good kind of sad.

Mina believes that every person must feel sad at some point in their lives. You can’t be happy forever. People should feel all kinds of emotions in order to get to know themselves more. That’s why there are some days for Mina wherein she listens to sad songs and just feels the gloominess of it. It helps her build herself. It may be weird for some but that’s her.

She can feel her heart beating loud and fast in her chest that she thinks Nayeon may have heard it. She lifts her head from the girl’s shoulder and faces her, looking straight into her dark brown eyes. 

_Is she going to lean in for another kiss? Because God, I want her to,_ Nayeon thinks.

She doesn’t think about the time that she swore to herself that this is _just_ _for fun._ She’s getting scared of how real this is starting to feel but Nayeon brushes the thoughts aside still. Maybe she’s afraid of facing her emotions? Maybe she’s afraid that in just a few more days, this thing with Mina will end? Or maybe she’s afraid that it won’t? Nonetheless, Nayeon closes the gap between them, placing her lips on Mina’s, reminding herself of the addictive feeling she got when they first did it.

Mina eases into the kiss and moves her lips gently like she’s afraid that Nayeon might break if she becomes too eager.

Their lips continue to move and when they break apart even just the slightest to tilt their heads, one would move forward to capture the other’s lips, not wanting for it to end because they both like where this is going, both want what is happening.

Of the many kisses that they have shared, this may be the most heartfelt one, especially for Nayeon.

The change of pace from slow to eager is driving her crazy. Lucky for them, it’s almost midnight and no one is around to witness them liplock on the pathway.

Nayeon pulls Mina’s body onto hers, wanting to feel her skin. Mina curves her palms on Nayeon’s waist, squeezing it, driving her to jerk her hips.

As if by instinct, Mina pulls up Nayeon’s leg to place on her hip, her hand on her thigh running up and down, fingers widely spread wanting to reach every inch of it. She moves up her knee in between the girl’s legs, causing her to moan, and they freeze on the spot, both breathing heavily, with lips still glued together.

They both slowly withdraw their arms from each other when they realized they were being raunchy in a dark and _very_ public place.

Nayeon panics a little and remembers that they’re outside and that someone might see them. Making out with someone in a public place is a worse scandal than a dating one and this is not the type of news she wants people to attract with.

Mina’s eyes remain on the ground and softly says, “We should go back to the hotel.”

Nayeon nods, eyes also remaining on the ground, and follows suit.

There’s that fair distance again between them.

The awkward tension is once again back and the car ride back to the hotel was very cringey, nothing but silence.

Nayeon opens the door to her hotel room and turns to face Mina.

The scene looks familiar.

“I’ll, uhm, uhh, see you tomorrow?” Nayeon gulps. “What are we gonna do tomorrow?”

Mina snaps from her daze and says, “I think let’s just, uhm, swim at the beach. Maybe in the afternoon? For a change?”

“Okay, I suppose that’s something we can do.” Nayeon agrees without giving much thought to it. “I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

“Yup.”

“Great. Good night.”

“Night.”

Then the door closes. Mina stares at the door and frowns, _that was so awkward._

On the other side of the door, Nayeon stares at the doorknob. _Should I go out and talk to her? Or should I just let this pass?_ She nods, _yeah, maybe we just need to sleep this off._

Both lay on their beds, thinking that this has been the second time that something like this happened between them. The sexual tension just keeps on growing each time they’re together, both are afraid to let their emotions take control. How will they handle it in the coming days?

* * *

The next morning, Mina grabs breakfast in a nearby diner and bumps into her friends from school. Jennie and Lisa have just arrived at the diner and share a table with her. 

"Lisa, babe, order for me please. I need to buy something for our flight tonight.", Jennie says, exiting the diner.

“What happened to you guys after that night at the club?”, Mina asks because, until this day, it’s still a mystery how her two friends have gotten home. “My last memory of you guys was when we were dancing and then we took a break. When we got back to the table, you were gone.”

Lisa smirks at her and whispers in her ear, “Okay, don’t tell Jennie I told you this but she and I finally did it. We went back to the hotel after the dance floor.”

Mina’s mouth forms a huge ‘o’ and leans closer to her friend to whisper, “What?! You mean to say that you guys have been dating for over a year now and you just had your first time? Here? In Jeju? That's crazy. I mean, crazy good.”

Her friend nods, “It was amazing, Mina. I really love her.”

She smiles at her friend and holds her hand, “I’m really happy for you guys.”

From afar, a certain socialite witnesses the scene unfold and storms right back to her hotel room. She didn’t like what she just saw, how Mina held the girl’s hand, and how she smiled at her.

 _She was supposed to be doing that to me_.

Nayeon throws her phone on the bed, not caring about where her phone will land. She paces in her room and asks herself, “Am I jealous? No way. This is not it.” 

Normally, it's Nayeon who makes other people jealous. Not the other way around.

When she was dating one of their company director's son, for a short amount of time, she caught the guy trying to make her jealous by openly flirting with one of their female peers, holding her by the waist, and by being close to her.

Nayeon isn't new to this type of immature game the socialite kids are playing. In fact, she wasn't even jealous. This guy is merely one of the pawns in improving Im Enterprises' standing in the industry.

What Nayeon does to make him jealous is by embracing another male peer right in front of the _pawn_ and caresses his back, with Nayeon staring at him with dead eyes and a smirk. That put him off a bit.

Furthermore, she also flirted with another female peer, including some hand-holding and tucking of loose hair behind an ear.

By the end of the night, Nayeon went home a single lady but the backlash she got was something she gladly took the responsibility for and she doesn't care if her parents scolded her for it. 

Nayeon stays in and spends the entire day watching movies on Netflix and ordering room service.

In the middle of the movie, she receives a message from Mina.

**[Mina, 11:03 am]**

**_Hi babe haha_ **

**_What time do I pick you up?_ **

Nayeon smiles at the girl’s message but ignores it as soon as she remembers the scene she witnessed from earlier today.

She sets her phone aside, leaving the girl on read and presses play to continue watching her movie.

Meanwhile, the girl staying a floor below her rolls on her bed waiting for her to respond. Mina thinks that maybe Nayeon is still asleep, that maybe she still needs a few more hours of rest before she picks her up for their date. She heads to the balcony to read a book and to drink tea.

_Maybe after a chapter or two, I can pick her up._

After three hours, Mina sends her another message.

**[Mina, 2:47 pm]**

**_Nayeon?_ **

**_Are you there?_ **

She frowns at the screen. Nayeon has definitely seen all of her messages but what is not clicking for her is why she isn’t getting any responses.

After a few more hours, Mina drops her another message. She’s starting to get worried, thinking that maybe she’s getting ignored because of what happened last night. 

**[Mina, 6:50 pm]**

**_Hey, I hope you’re okay. We can go out again tomorrow or the day after that if you want. I’m just getting worried._ **

Nayeon wakes up from a nap and sees the message. Still irritated, she switches her phone screen to a music player and takes a hot long bath to remove the anger (jealousy) inside her.

Later that night, Mina finds herself in a club ordering some drinks.

Nayeon hasn’t responded to her the entire day and it bums her out. She doesn’t know anyone on the island aside from her but she's being ignored so what else can she do? She doesn’t want to sulk and lock herself in her room and do nothing. The night is still young and Jeju is full of fun places to go to and the club is one of them.

Mina downs the three shots she ordered and grabs her additional cocktail drink to the middle of the dance floor.

A random girl walks up to her and starts dancing for show. The girl is really feeling the music in her and faces Mina, grabbing her glass and drinks from it.

Mina takes her drink back and unknowingly gulps the remaining in her glass.

Pretty girls really make her do stupid things.

The girl places her arms around her and grinds on her, making her feel hot for a bit.

Mina places her hands on the girl’s waist and dances along to the rhythm of the stranger’s body. Her head's starting to feel a bit heavy and her vision is starting to blur due to the alcohol.

The girl takes this as an opportunity to peck her on the lips, to finally shut her up and take her somewhere since they’re both drunk.

She sees the pair of lips lunging forward and she quickly turns her head to the side right before it reaches hers.

“What’s wrong?”

Mina pushes the girl from her and answers, “I have a girlfriend.”

“I don’t see her around. Maybe we can, you know, just for tonight?”

The girl sensually bites her lip and hypnotizes Mina. She resumes placing her hands around Mina's neck.

They both stare at each other’s lips then everything turns pitch black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Mina do it?????? Daaaaaaamn
> 
> Just a gentle reminder to focus on your mental health first before kpop. You matter more than kpop.
> 
> Thank you again for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Loud music, laser lights, and a pretty girl dancing on her is all she remembers.

Mina’s eyes shoot open when she hears loud knocks on her door. She touches her body as if she’s lost something.

It registers to her that she has made it safely back to her hotel room in one piece, wearing the same set of clothes from last night and her bag scattered on the table.

She searches for her phone under her pillow and checks that it’s almost five in the afternoon. She can't believe she just slept through the entire day and now she's experiencing a piercing headache due to oversleeping, or probably a hangover.

The loud knocks distract her from recalling her memories of last night and she walks to the door to open it.

An angry-looking Nayeon barges into her room with her arms crossed to her chest. Her actions towards her are hostile like she has committed something against her will.

 _Against her will… right, a girl almost kissed me last night,_ she nods.

Mina closes the door and sits on the couch in front of her guest.

“What brings you here, Nayeon?”

Nayeon gasps and hisses, “Wow, you go talk to other girls and now you’re asking me what I’m doing here?”

Mina’s eyes widen, guilt completely spread on her entire face.

_She can’t possibly know about the girl from last night._

She tries to respond in a calm manner, not letting her nervousness get to her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Please, Mina. I saw you two yesterday. Stop acting like you don’t know what I saw. If you’re seeing other people aside from me, at least have the balls to tell me the truth. Am I a fool to you?”

Mina closes her eyes and sighs, giving in and says the truth to Nayeon. Her truth of who the girl was.

“Okay, I’m sorry. The girl from last night… nothing happened between her and me. We just danced, that’s it. She tried to kiss me but I pushed her away.”

Nayeon blinks, completely confused as to what she’s saying. She sits on the couch and looks at Mina with her eyebrows meeting in the middle.

“You went somewhere last night with someone else? I don’t think we’re on the same page here, Mina.”

“Wait, what are you going on about?”, Mina moves a bit closer to Nayeon, which makes her flinch, kind of a bit uncomfortable.

“I was talking about the girl from yesterday morning who you were holding hands with. And to think that there was another one from last night...” Nayeon sighs and shakes her head, “I think we’re done here, Mina.”

Before Nayeon could stand up and leave, Mina quickly stands.

“Wait! Let me explain first, please. Just listen and let me explain.”

In situations like this, Nayeon is fair and she may have jumped to conclusions but she knows how to listen and change her poor judgment. She feels somehow hurt with the knowledge of the situations Mina has with two different girls.

Just when she’s starting to feel something, this happens but right now, she will listen. Nayeon nods and gestures for Mina to begin explaining.

“Okay, before I begin. Could you describe to me what you saw yesterday morning?”, she calmly asks.

Mina knows that she can fix this because she’s not guilty of anything. She doesn’t talk to any other girl aside from Nayeon. She’s the only girl she’s pursuing.

Nayeon rolls her eyes. “Seriously?!", she groans, "It was at the diner. You were whispering, laughing, and holding this girl’s hand.”

“Ah!”, Mina remembers.

It was the one with Lisa when she was telling her what happened to her and Jennie after the club.

“That was my friend, Lisa. She was telling me something that happened after we went to the club. That night I met you. Her girlfriend was there at the diner too but she went out to buy something.", she explains, "I was holding her hand because I was happy with what she told me about her and her girlfriend. It was a friendly gesture.” Mina smiles at successfully defending herself, then frowns again when Nayeon asks about the girl from last night.

“About that one, I was a bit sad because you left me on read yesterday. You didn’t reply to any of my messages so I went out. I was planning to drink but not to the extent of getting drunk but looking at me now, I guess I wasn’t really successful at controlling.”, she shakes her head. “Anyway, this girl came up to me and started to dance so I danced with her. I was in a club after all, and then after a few drinks, she tried to lean in for a kiss but I told her I have a girlfriend so she’d stop bothering me about it and…”, Mina trails, trying to remember more of what happened after. She closes her eyes and massages her temple. Bit by bit, her memories after she blacked out came back.

“And?”, the irritated girl beside her asks.

Mina opens her eyes, much more confident now with her answers, and continues. “And I pushed her away and left. Then I grabbed a taxi and went back here. Nothing else happened.” She smiles knowing that her explanation calmed the girl down and because everything she told her is true, that there is no other else aside from her. She is only for Nayeon and Nayeon only.

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Okay then freshen up. You stink.” Nayeon kids.

“Wait a second, you think you’re off the hook? I think you owe me an apology, Nayeon.” Mina smirks.

“Apology for what?”

Mina places her arm on the edge of the couch as she sits closer to her.

“Apology for assuming things and not talking to me first about it. You should’ve asked me first about what you saw at the diner and we wouldn’t have been in this situation.”

Now, it’s Nayeon whose guilt is written on her face.

She knows it’s her fault but pride and jealousy got into her way and turned off her rationale for a day (and a half).

“I know,” she places her head on Mina’s chest and whines, “and I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. Next time, I will ask before jumping to conclusions.”

What she did was childish, Mina must admit. But she understands why she would feel that way. Some people just really have different upbringings in this world.

With a victorious smile, Mina rubs the girl's shoulders to let her know that it’s fine.

“It’s okay, _babe_. I’ll go take a shower now.”

Nayeon smiles a tight-lipped smile hearing the pet name. The word ‘babe’ is starting to make her feel things, most importantly when Mina says it to her.

The girl stands and heads to the bathroom to wash away the smell of alcohol.

To make up for the trouble she caused for both of them, Nayeon takes the time that Mina is in the bathroom to order room service for said girl with a hangover.

After a few minutes of waiting, room service arrives and the food is placed on the table to surprise her.

Mina walks out and whistles at the beautiful set of food laid out on the table.

“Is this your way of apologizing, Miss Nayeon?”, she laughs.

Nayeon sulks, not wanting to be reminded of the situation they got themselves in because of her.

“Maybe it is, but it’s also to help you with your hangover. But you know what they say, 'the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.'”

Mina laughs at the excuse and accepts it. This is the first time that Nayeon has initiated a grand gesture for her and it honestly makes her happy seeing this new side of Nayeon aside from the outburst a while ago.

They continue watching the Descendants of the Sun’s episode they left off last time while eating dinner.

The night went on with the same routine: they eat dinner, watch, set aside the plates and cups, and cuddle, except for this one, the awkward tension between them is gone.

There is tension but they still haven’t identified it yet, not sure if it’s maybe sexual.

Nayeon checks the time and it’s almost midnight. She turns to face Mina and kisses her chin to get her attention, “It’s already late. I think I should go.”

Mina looks at her and nuzzles her neck to whisper, “Is it too much if I ask you to stay the night?”.

Nayeon chuckles, asking her to repeat what she just said, too distracted by her nuzzling.

Mina repeats, “I said is it too much if I ask you to stay over?”, quickly pecks the exposed skin on her neck, “I can lend you some clothes and there’s a spare toothbrush in the bathroom.”

Nayeon caresses the girl's back, giving much thought to the offer. She has nothing to lose. It’s just a sleepover and so she nods, accepting the girl's offer.

Mina stands and grabs a hoodie and some night shorts to lend her then goes quickly to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Right after her, Nayeon goes in to change then proceeds to brush her teeth.

When she walks out of the bathroom, she sees that the dim lights were turned down a bit and that Mina is already lying in bed, patting the space beside her.

_What a cute dork._

She grabs the blanket and makes herself comfortable using Mina’s arm as her pillow _again_. It’s painful after a while but for Mina, she’s comfortable and happy with Nayeon in her arms, her back pressed against her front and their hands intertwined.

The room’s completely silent, however, the butterflies in the pits of their stomachs are raging.

They both end their nights with happiness and contentment.

* * *

Mina wakes up from the movement beside her, slowly opening her eyes, and sees Nayeon’s head on her chest.

She holds in her chuckle, afraid she might wake the girl with her chest rising and falling. She tries to shuffle from the girl’s hold so she could use the bathroom but fails and she whines from her movements. 

Minutes later, Nayeon unconsciously plants a kiss on Mina’s chest but she realizes that what she has done may come off as creepy so she mumbles ‘sorry’ and lifts her head.

“Sorry for what?” Mina asks, eyes still closed.

“I think I used you as a pillow the entire night. Your body must have hurt.” Nayeon says, pulling herself away from Mina, to lie beside her.

The girl whose eyes are still closed laughs, “It did but I don’t mind. You looked cute sleeping peacefully on top of me, to be honest.”

It’s too early to be blushing this hard but Mina’s really smooth when it comes to delivering those kinds of lines that can make her fluster. Good for her, Mina's eyes are still closed to be witnessing her blushing on the side.

“I think I should go back to my room now. What are we gonna do today?”

“You don’t want to grab some breakfast first? I can call room service and we can eat out on the balcony. It’s pretty relaxing out there and the view's great.” Mina proposes, holding Nayeon’s hand, who is already prepared to walk out of the room, pulling her closer. 

Nayeon scrunches her nose and can’t help but give in. Mina just looks too adorable right now, in her oversized hoodie with her bottom lip out. She gives in and accepts the offer, but she doesn’t stop there. She wipes off Mina’s pout with a soft kiss on the lips, startling the girl even herself. Mina smiles at her and she stutters, excusing herself for the bathroom.“I-I, uhm, I should go to the bathroom.” Nayeon quickly walks to the bathroom and shuts the door.

She lets out a breath she doesn’t know she’s been holding.

Mina, on the other hand, covers her head with a pillow to scream out the feelings she’s been holding, her heart racing, wanting more of Nayeon’s affection. It’s really growing in on her. Nayeon is.

Room service enters and they ask the server to place the food on the balcony.

Breakfast is just simple. Some avocado toast and a poke bowl for them to share, and some fresh fruit juices to drink. In addition to this calming atmosphere is the weather. The sun’s out and they hear the joy of the people relaxing from the ground and the waves crashing on the shore, plus they’re with the perfect company— each other.

They eat in silence until Mina’s phone rings. It’s a video call from her mom.

“Nayeon, my mom wants to do a video call. Is it okay if I take this?”

_She shouldn’t really be asking for permission from me. Why is she being like this?_

She nods, taking a bite of her toast.

From across her, she can see Mina animatedly telling stories to her mom about her vacation since her friends left. She learns that her parents are in the US right now for a medical conference.

What amazes her is that they’re both speaking in English and that's something Nayeon is fluent in. Perks of being a socialite and a business major.

Nayeon says a loud enough ‘what’ when Mina told her mom that she’s currently seeing someone, making her mom ask who she’s with.

Mina turns to her and asks if it’s okay to show herself. She nods and raises her hoodie to cover almost the entirety of her face, excusing that she doesn’t have any makeup on and that she looks a bit unpleasant now, making both Mina and her mom laugh.

 _“I’m pretty sure you look beautiful with or without makeup, dear. I hope I get to meet you soon.”_ Mina’s mom says.

“Mom, we have to go. We’re still eating breakfast. I’ll drop you a message soon. Love you.” Mina says, turning off her phone and sighs to look at Nayeon, a bit embarrassed of her mom. “I’m sorry about that. My mom can be a bit…”

“It’s okay! Your mom’s cute, I kind of see where you got that quirky and confident attitude of yours.” Nayeon smirks, “So what are we gonna do today?”

Mina hums to think and remembers the list of places to take Nayeon to in Jeju. She opens her phone to browse through it, “Let’s go to a museum. Again, I won’t tell you what museum it is but I’ll be driving.”

Nayeon beams and smiles widely, full of aegyo, and says, “Okay _babe_!”

Mina does that eye smile that captures the girl's heart and grabs her finger to fake bite it.

“I’ll see you in an hour?”

* * *

The moment Nayeon sees Mina at the parking lot, she dashes towards her and lunges for a hug.

 _Someone’s excited for today_.

This side of Nayeon is totally different from the one she saw when they first met until their first few dates.

This Nayeon is like a baby, a cute one at that. She’s bubbly, clingy, and everything about her is cute. Her smile has gotten bigger as well.

Nayeon takes out her film camera and starts snapping some selfies and pictures of Mina driving. She even requests for Mina to let her drive the car even just for a bit.

It scares Mina since the car is rented under her name and what if Nayeon causes some damage right? But what Mina doesn’t know is that Nayeon is an excellent driver herself.

She’s actually the designated driver every time she and Jihyo go out to sneak away from their responsibilities. They’d drink coffee somewhere near the city and just rant about how they hate having other people control their lives.

“I’m surprised you’re good at this.” Mina says while loosening her grip on the handle like her life depended on it.

Her eyes set on the road, Nayeon says, “Do you really think I’m a bad driver? Maybe I should be the one to drive in the coming days so you’ll know just how good I am.”

“ _Baby_ , I know you’re good.”

Nayeon slaps her thigh and laughs at the innuendo, rides along with it.

“Oh, you’ll see more of how good I am.”

Mina lets out an ‘ohhh’ and slides her hand on Nayeon’s thigh, moving upwards to tease her.

The girl slaps her hand away and laughs. But deep inside, Nayeon’s panicking.

If she did not stop Mina, she would have parked the car on the side and pounced on the girl. The tension between them still hasn’t disappeared. It just appears every now and then, but it’s there. It exists.

They pull up at the parking lot and head into the museum.

When they reach the cafe, Nayeon’s astonished at the wide field of green leaves in front of them.

“ _Mitang_ , let’s go out in the field first, and then let’s tour the inside.”

Mina smiles at the use of the nickname Sana gave her.

“Okay, _Nayeonie_.” She sings.

The sound of the nickname in Nayeon’s ears is like new music she wants to listen to on repeat. She coos and grabs Mina’s hand to go outside.

The field is much wider once they got out. You can see how long it stretches and how well-maintained it is.

They take turns in taking pictures in between the rows.

“Uhm, excuse me? Is it okay if you take our picture here?” Mina asks a fellow tourist and she agrees. They position themselves and do multiple poses.

***CLICK***

Nayeon places her arm around Mina’s shoulder.

***CLICK***

Mina snakes her arm around Nayeon’s waist.

***CLICK***

Mina plants a kiss on Nayeon’s cheek.

***CLICK***

Nayeon turns to her with a surprised look.

***CLICK***

Mina leans in for a kiss and Nayeon surges forward to capture her lips.

They both pull away and the tourist returns the camera to them, slightly flustered, “You girls look really good together. Enjoy the rest of your tour.”

Mina bows at the tourist and Nayeon freezes into place.

_We look good together?_

“Nayeon, do you wanna go in? It’s starting to drizzle.”

The weather seems to cooperate with Nayeon’s feelings. Because when she heard what the tourist said, it reminded her of how messy things will be if she continues this, how she’s sure she will end up hurting Mina, how she’ll ruin this once in a lifetime opportunity to be with someone you’re happy with.

Her mood slowly declines and they finish the tour inside feeling a bit empty.

They sit at the museum’s cafe to try their signature drinks and pastries while waiting for the rain to stop.

Mina crosses her arms on the table and rests her head, looking at Nayeon with concern. She’s not insensitive, she knows something’s bothering her.

“Nayeon? Are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a while now.”

The girl rests her head on her shoulder and heavily sighs, “I’m alright. Just… feeling a bit short on today’s museum date.”

Mina sits up and grips Nayeon’s hand close to her mouth, kisses it, and says, “Is that so? Then we can go to a different museum on some other day. We’ll wake up early and then we’ll end it with good food. What do you think?”

She’s glad Mina bought that excuse of hers. Maybe Mina’s just not ready to hear everything about her yet.

It’s been almost two hours since the rain poured, it’s starting to get dark, and they still have a long walk to the parking lot.

If they go now, they’ll definitely be soaking wet when they reach the car.

Mina’s feeling a bit cheeky and adventurous today so she goes to the museum’s souvenir shop and sees that they’re selling a waterproof bag. She buys one and tells Nayeon to put the rest of her valuables in.

“Why? What are you going to do with that?” Nayeon questions, worried about what she’s planning.

“It looks like the rain won’t be stopping anytime soon so let’s put our things in here and make a run for it. This will be fun.”

“W-what? We’re gonna race? To the parking lot?”

Nayeon taps her fingers on the table to think. She weighs in the pros and cons of this little game.

Cons will include: their entire clothes will be wet, they might slip since the ground is wet and slippery, and the car seats will be a mess because of their clothes.

Pros will include: they’ll get back earlier to the hotel, Mina has a towel and some hoodies in the backseat so it’s really okay, and **it’s fun**.

“Okay, I’m in.”

Mina seals the waterproof bag and carries it. She suddenly remembers that they parked on the very end of the parking lot, now cursing herself for even suggesting this game.

In unison, they count “Three, two, one, GO!”.

Nayeon sprints and she feels her clothes slowly getting soaked in rain. She looks back and sees that Mina is nearing her so she doubles her pace to avoid getting surpassed by.

This game is one of the worst decisions they both ever agreed upon, both showing their competitive nature to each other.

Mina successfully overtakes Nayeon and laughs at her victory (well, almost) when she hears a cry from behind her. Nayeon slipped. She runs back to her and examines the girl’s legs immediately to see if there are any bruises.

“I’m okay, Mina. I’m okay.”

And in a blink of an eye, Nayeon dashes past her towards the parking lot, running around in circles as she has won this little game using a dirty little distraction.

Mina jogs to the parking lot, still dumbfounded by what happened.

“You distracted me back there! No fair, Nayeon.”

Nayeon does little jumps of joy to celebrate her victory.

“What do you mean I distracted you? I really did slip but when I saw that you were preoccupied with my legs, I took that as an opportunity to beat your ass.” She laughs loudly, sticking out her tongue to annoy her.

“Touché, Nayeon.”

A loud thunder disrupts them and Mina quickly unlocks the car so they can shelter themselves from the rain.

They look at each other and burst into laughter.

This was the most amusing thing they’ve done on this vacation and looking at each other’s disheveled hair and clothes are their proof for it.

Fortunately, Mina keeps some spare towels and clothes in the car just in case they go swimming somewhere. She reaches for them and hands them to Nayeon.

“You should probably get changed. We’re lucky this car is tinted.” Mina laughs nervously.

Nayeon takes the items and asks, “What about you? Do you still have any spare clothes?” She checks the backseat and sees that there is still another hoodie left. “Yeah, I still have an extra at the back.”

It’s dark on their side of the lot and the only lights in the area are the posts on the main roads and entrance of the parking lot.

Nayeon thinks if she should remove her shirt or if she should also remove her bra. She’s not really shy when it comes to getting naked in front of other people because she goes to bathhouses in her free time and gets naked in front of total strangers but with Mina, shyness takes over her.

When Mina sees that Nayeon is a bit uncomfortable, she faces the window and rests her head on the steering wheel to let her know that she’s free to change and that she will not sneak a look.

Piece by piece, she removes her sweater, shirt, and bra. She dries off the rain from her body and slips into Mina’s hoodie.

“Your turn, Mina.”

Mirroring the girl’s previous action, Nayeon faces the window and covers her head with the hood.

Mina removes her blouse and dries off her body with the towel. She then slips into her hoodie and proceeds to dry her hair.

“I have a plastic bag here. You can put your wet clothes in.”

Nayeon grabs the plastic and places her wet clothes in the bag and she starts opening the waterproof bag to get her things. She places Mina’s on the center console and they head back to the hotel. The rain is still pouring hard so Mina drives slowly to avoid any accidents.

The atmosphere inside the car is starting to feel a bit hot or it could be just Mina.

She can make a mental list of what’s making her feel this way.

First and foremost, Nayeon is wearing her hoodie. There’s just something sexy about it. She may not be the one to physically wrap the girl up right now but at least her hoodie is there to take her place.

Second, her wet look. I bet you all agree with Mina when she says that if you’re attracted to someone and that someone shows off a wet look, regardless if it’s due to the rain or sweat, you will definitely become even more attracted. Something about Nayeon's wet hair and her once wet face is magnetic.

Lastly, that tension is back again. Or maybe it’s just Mina feeling hot at the inappropriate thoughts she keeps on failing to brush aside.

She thinks Nayeon doesn’t notice, but she does.

Admittedly, Nayeon is already kind of a bit turned on.

She’s feeling hot at the fact that she changed in front of Mina and how shy she got when she did.

Apart from the caring and sweet personality of Mina, Nayeon remembers those nights when they made out aggressively, particularly that night in the pathway after dinner.

_God, that was so hot._

The way Mina led them and when she placed her knee in between, she wanted more. She wanted Mina to take her right then and there but thankfully, she did not let lust take control of her. She glances at Mina, who is looking so cool and attractive with her hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly, biting her lips, trying to suppress the feeling of being...turned on?

_Wait, is she feeling this too?_

Nayeon tests if her assumption is true if Mina is also feeling the sexual tension between them. So what she does to prove this assumption is she holds Mina’s hand on top of her thigh, fingers intertwined and all that, caressing it with her thumb.

She grabs her phone and purposely drops the girl's hand right on her thigh, checking in her peripheral vision how the girl would react.

Mina’s hand tenses and she gulps, loud enough for Nayeon to hear.

To tease her even more, Nayeon rests her elbow on the center console and leans to call her name, low and husky.

“Mina.”

That urges Mina to stop the car on the side of the road and look at the girl calling for her.

Dark eyes meet dark eyes and Mina starts breathing heavily, holding herself from kissing Nayeon deeply, wanting to taste again those plump, cherry lips.

“What’s stopping you this time, Mina?” Nayeon whispers, gliding her hand on Mina’s arm up to her nape. 

Mina’s hand that’s resting on her thigh makes its way to her waist and pulls her in for a searing kiss. She bites her bottom lip and slips in her tongue the moment she hears Nayeon moan, exploring the expanse of her mouth with her tongue.

Nayeon can’t help herself anymore as she pounces over the console and straddles Mina.

They resume their sensual kisses and warm hands begin to roam under Nayeon’s hoodie, warm fingers wanting to feel her soft skin. Mina begins to place open-mouthed kisses on Nayeon’s long neck, nipping and sucking the exposed skin, making her body rock forward against hers.

They continue tasting each other’s mouths, tilting their heads, tongues fighting as Mina feels Nayeon’s torso. Her hands, slowly making their way up right below the cup of her breasts.

With Nayeon’s hips continuously rolling, she pulls away and looks into her dark eyes, asking permission if it’s okay to touch her.

Nayeon nods and both of Mina’s hands cup her mounds, gently kneading them, making Nayeon roll her eyes in extreme pleasure. She lifts the girl’s hoodie and her lips begin planting kisses on her chest, her tongue circling around her nipple, while her thumb circles the other. Nayeon holds her head close to her chest, wanting more.

She rocks her hips back and forth in a steady pattern. Wanting more friction, she guides Mina’s hand on her breast down to where she really needs to be taken care of.

When Mina realizes what Nayeon is doing, Mina pulls away panting heavily, “Nayeon, wait—“, her hands resting on the girl’s waist.

Nayeon asks breathlessly, with lips parted and swollen lips, “What?”.

Eyes filled with lust stare into her eyes, thinking she might have already fucked this one up by being too eager.

Mina smiles to ease her, which ends up confusing her even more, “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy every bit of you but I think we should stop before things get too...”

“Why?”

Nayeon straightens her hoodie and places her hands on Mina’s shoulder for support as she tries to go over the center console back to her seat but Mina stops her and holds her firmly by the waist.

“Wait, Nayeon. Please don’t get me wrong”, she sighs, “You don’t deserve to be fucked, sorry for the lack of a better term, in a car in the middle of nowhere. I want to do it the right way. I respect you and you deserve nothing but only the best.”

This is Mina telling her wholeheartedly how she feels, well almost. She meant every word when she said that Nayeon deserves nothing but the best, and as she said, she wants to do her right.

The adoration she has for Mina wants to burst through her chest and just shower her with so much affection.

The lust, washed away and replaced by warmth as in the warmth of being flustered. Her cheeks redden at the girl's confession and cups her cheeks, showing her a bunny smile, and places a soft kiss over swollen lips.

“Okay then as long as you will sleep in my room tonight and we cuddle.”

It didn’t sound like a favor but more of a command and Mina’s all in for it.

They arrive at the hotel and Mina quickly showers and heads to Nayeon’s room.

No funny business at all.

They really cuddled with Nayeon’s head on Mina’s chest.

Mina’s heart wants to explode with so much happiness, she really likes Nayeon and wants everything to be perfect with her.

In every day that they've been together, she discovers something new about the girl— a new side perhaps.

Nobody is perfect but in her eyes, Nayeon is perfect.

She may actually take someone home to meet her parents in Japan soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mina, you horny girl!!! All of us want that pineapple so here's a pineapple chapter hahaha
> 
> I'm sorry for the angst last week huhu but hey, angst makes a story good right???? 
> 
> Fun fact: most of the tours I used in this fic are based off that TTV in Jeju. The one with them wearing their high school uniforms hehe
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks again!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NAYEON DAY!!!!!!
> 
> HUHUHUHU SHE'S 6 NOW (in korean age)
> 
> While we wait for that minayeon selca, here's a chapter hehe enjoy!!!

After a long night of pouring rain, the sun finally shines and seeps through the curtains by the sliding door to the balcony.

Nayeon opens her eyes and sees a silhouette doing yoga? On the balcony? At freaking nine in the morning?

She turns to her side to see the space beside her empty. She wraps herself in a blanket and checks on the girl outside by sliding the door open just a bit, poking her head out.

“What are you doing?”

The girl on the ground is startled by the voice and stands, dusting both hands on her shorts to wrap the intruder in a hug.

“Good morning, pretty girl. Just doing a bit of yoga to start the day.” She gives her a soft morning kiss on the lips. “Actually, Sana wanted to do virtual yoga with me today.”

“That’s cute. Maybe you can teach me a few positions soon?” Nayeon asks innocently, tilting her head to the side, but Mina knows better. She chokes on her saliva, her cheeks turning red, and she shyly turns away from her.

_Innuendoes are too early for me, Nayeon._

Nayeon pulls her in for a hug and laughs at her blushing face.

“I totally just made you blush. You look really cute when you get shy, do you know that?”

Mina smacks her lips to suppress a smile forming.

“Want to go swim today? We can continue our lessons.”

_Maybe I should give swimming a chance. I wanna have fun with Mina in the water too._

“Okay, I’m down!”

* * *

“Keep on paddling! Just imagine you’re a dog.”

“Mina, I look like a fool doing this. It’s not the same as how you do it.”

“Paddle your arms and kick your legs!”

Nayeon tries her best to do what Mina says is a ‘dog paddle’ and it’s already starting to frustrate her.

She whines as she coughs on some pool water.

_Ew, I hate this._

Mina grabs her by the waist to bring her to the pool’s shallow area.

“If you stopped whining, maybe you’ll get it.”

She knows that Mina is right. She really is just a whiner.

“Come on, give it another try, and then I’ll teach you how to do a proper breaststroke.” Mina instructs.

“A breaststroke? Oh, I’m pretty sure you’re good at that.”

Nayeon whispers, raising her eyebrows, and smirks. She did that to see the panic in Mina’s eyes and boy, is it entertaining.

They continue the lesson and she successfully, no, _finally_ learns how to do a dog paddle.

So far, Nayeon knows how to float, dog paddle, and now, a breaststroke.

Mina shows Nayeon the proper techniques on how to do breaststrokes, from the arm positions and the kicks her legs need to do for proper execution.

All she hears are whines coming from her, “Mina, this requires so much power. This is tiring!”

“Swimming is cardio but better than running. In running, you get all sweaty and smelly but for this one, it’s either you’ll end up smelling like the sea or chlorine.” She explains, “Come on, babe. Just do it for me please?”

“Fine!”

Calling each other ‘babe’ doesn’t seem to fluster them anymore unless the word is emphasized with _that_ intonation and maybe a few gestures, then maybe that'll make them.

After spending a good amount of time practicing the technique, Nayeon finally learns it.

They spend the rest of the day practicing Nayeon’s newly acquired skills in the pool and on the beach to help her get used to it.

Mina also treats her to dinner for doing a job well done in pushing herself to learn.

Nayeon sends a message to Jeongyeon, bragging that she knows how to swim at last.

**[Nayeon, 7:10 pm]**

**_Hey dork~_ **

**_Guess who knows how to swim now?_**

**[Jeongyeon, 7:20 pm]**

**_Let me guess……_ **

**_Not you :P_ ** ****

**[Nayeon, 7:33 pm]**

**_Remember this day, Yoo Jeongyeon_ ** ****

**[Jeongyeon, 7:35 pm]**

**_Kidding hehe_ **

**_You finally used your money to get swimming lessons_ **

**_In Jeju???_ **

**[Nayeon, 7:40 pm]**

**_I didn’t pay anyone fyi_ **

**_Someone taught me_ **

**[Jeongyeon, 8:00 pm]**

👀👀👀

She hears a few knocks on her door and she sets her phone down to open it for her guest. Mina walks in, wearing a huge hoodie with a bag of take-out from the restaurant across. They’re binge-watching Descendants of the Sun and by the looks of it, they plan to do it the entire night just by looking at the amount of food the girl bought.

A good way to end a tiring and productive day.

* * *

The next few days are spent with Nayeon swimming in the pool and beach.

She’s gotten so much better now compared to the other days. Mina even left her for a while to buy a few sporting goods from the island’s mall. When she gets back, Nayeon’s still swimming. She guesses that the girl finally learned to love the water.

“Hey babe, I’m back.” She greets, placing her bought goods on the table.

“Babe, did you just see what I did there? Wasn’t I amazing?” Nayeon proudly says, jumping in joy.

Mina smiles at her and whispers, “Yeah, you’re really amazing.”

Nayeon steps out of the water to wrap her in a hug and grabs the bag on the table to inspect the goods she bought.

“Oh, what are these?”

“Ah, these are for surfing.”

“Wait… you surf?! Wow,” Nayeon bites her lip and whispers against the girl’s cheek, “I find that really, really hot.”, then plants a kiss.

Mina clears her throat and nods, taken aback by how confident Nayeon is in flirting with her. She puts the goods back in the bag and tells her to pack her stuff because they’ll be transferring to another beach. One where Mina could surf and show off just how hot she looks doing it and how good she is in doing it.

The beach was just on the other side of the island. It was just a short drive from their hotel.

There are only a handful of people in the area so losing their things won’t really be a problem here.

Nayeon lays out their stuff on the sand while Mina talks to the owner of the surfboard rental. She later walks back with a surfboard in hand.

“Can you take lots of pictures and videos of me surfing?” Mina requests.

“Yes, _babe,_ I will. Don’t you worry.”

Mina smiles at her and continues strapping the leash on her leg.

Seeing Mina prepare to surf puts worry into Nayeon’s mind.

It’s her first time seeing someone, who’s become close to her, do a dangerous activity. Yes, surfing as a sport is considered one of the most dangerous sports ever. She did her research while Mina’s preparing.

It’s really daunting thinking of all the possibilities that could happen when she's finally out there in the open with _lots_ of scary sea creatures. She walks up to the girl and gives her a tight hug.

“Mina, be careful out there okay?”

Mina laughs and grabs her face to look straight into her eyes and sees that the girl really is worried about her.

Her smile fades, “I will, Nayeon. I took surfing lessons before so you really have nothing to worry about.”, giving her a reassuring smile.

Nayeon eases into the hands on her face, bops Mina’s nose with her finger, and gives her a bunny smile.

“Don’t forget my pictures!”

Mina quickly presses a kiss on her cheek and runs into the water with the board on her side.

The waves are a bit irregular— some are big and others look small, much calmer. Or in Nayeon’s words, **safe**.

Mina paddles further into the waves and waits. She sits on her board waiting for the right size of wave to ride on. A two-foot wave is on its way and Mina lays on her board. She pops up and rides on it perfectly, not forgetting to also give a perfect smile hoping that Nayeon would capture it.

On the sands, Nayeon screams in amazement because Mina is riding a wave so effortlessly. She’ll just need to warn Mina later of the screams and shakiness of the camera if she ever watches the videos she takes.

Wave after wave, Mina rides them smoothly but after a while, the waves gradually increase in size.

She's ridden huge waves before and this doesn’t really frighten her of what might happen. She’s also prepared just in case.

A four-foot wave approaches and Mina’s preparing for it. She pops up to stand and positions herself but she accidentally puts too much weight on her other leg and she falls front first on the water. She swims to keep her head afloat only to be met by another huge wave, making her roll underwater, hitting her head on the board.

Nayeon stands once she sees Mina’s board floating, waiting for her to come out of the water but she’s still out of sight.

After a few more seconds of not seeing Mina, she drops everything on her hand and runs towards the water.

All she thinks of right now is to get Mina out of there. She doesn’t remember the fear that invaded her life for years.

The adrenaline helps her keep her mind out of it. She doesn't care about the waves, doesn't care about the creatures floating under. As long as she gets Mina back to shore, she’s fine. 

She applies all the techniques she learned from the missing girl.

At first, she dog paddles her way through the waves and then proceeds to do a breaststroke towards the floating board. She sees Mina floating just beside it and pulls her out of the water.

When they reach the shore, she removes the leash on Mina’s leg and lightly slaps her face to wake her. She’s knocked unconscious for staying underwater too long.

“Yah! Mina! I told you to be careful! Please wake up.” Nayeon pleads, on the verge of tears. She slaps again Mina’s face and soon after, she coughs and regains consciousness.

“Wow, that was a first. Cool.” She weakly says and sits up.

Nayeon hugs her tightly and nuzzles her face on the girl’s neck.

“Thank God, you’re alive. I was so worried.”

“Why are you wet? Did you swim?”

“Obviously, Mina.” Nayeon pushes her, “I went in the water to save your ass from drowning! And you’re saying that what happened to you was ‘cool’? What the hell! I was really worried okay!”

Mina smiles, “I’m sorry for upsetting you. Thanks for getting me out of there. I owe you.” She says, grabbing her hands. “But aside from that, I’m proud of you for getting over your fear.”

“What?” Nayeon asks, completely confused about what Mina is saying.

“I’m proud of you, Nayeon! You swam all on your own and _you got me out of there_!”

“Oh right!”, she shakes her head. “I am proud of myself.” She glances at Mina and quickly spots a cut on her brow. “Mina! Your eyebrow! It’s bleeding.”

“Really?” Mina touches her brow and winces in pain, “Yeah, wow. Uhm, I prepared a first aid kit in our bag just in case.”

Nayeon rummages through their things for the kit and takes it out.

Mina grabs the cotton with iodine but before she could swab it on her wound, Nayeon asks if she can do it instead. She allows her.

She sits close to the wounded girl and grabs her face to carefully clean the cut. Mina hisses in pain and holds her wrist to stop her from touching the wound furthermore.

Nayeon scolds her, “Stay still! I’m almost done.”

Being the whipped girl that she is, Mina obliges. They finish up with Nayeon covering the wound with a bandage.

“There. You’re all good now.”

To add more comfort to the wounded girl, she places a kiss over the bandage and moves to her cheek.

"Do I look cool now? Swag." Mina asks, placing two fingers on her chin to show off her wound. "Like I'm part of The Avengers?" 

"You still have the audacity to joke around like that?" Nayeon scolds her.

Mina pouts like a kid whose lollipop has been taken away.

"But, yes. You look badass with that bandage over your eyebrow." She chuckles.

Mina looks at Nayeon with so much warmth.

The way she saved her and took care of her is making her start to fall deep in this long and scary pit called _love._ But is she really?

Mina stretches her hand to Nayeon. “Let’s lie down on the sand.”

Thankfully, the weather for the day is not that hot. The sun shines bright but not to the point that it causes a burning feeling on the skin. Just the right amount of warmth, like the one Mina’s feeling inside when Nayeon lays her head on her chest and her hand playing with the hem of her rash guard.

In just a few days, their vacation will be over.

Mina doesn’t want to leave in Jeju what they have, she wants to bring it everywhere she goes so she finds herself in Nayeon’s hotel room that night waiting for the girl to finish taking a shower. Before she went to the girl’s room, she went to hers first to fix some stuff and to shower as well. And now she’s here, sitting on the couch.

She thinks of finally confessing to Nayeon but then she also thinks that there’s nothing more to confess because she’s been showing her how much she likes her by constantly asking her out, touring with her, eating with her, and even taking care of her. But then, Mina thinks that maybe Nayeon is the type of person who wants things done formally, with her family background and all. She's also very aware that she’s from a prominent family, just doesn’t know that she’s from _the_ Im Enterprises yet.

“You already asleep?” Nayeon asks.

Her thoughts were so loud that she didn’t even hear her come out of the bathroom.

“No, just thinking.”

“Ooh, that sounds serious.”

Nayeon motions for her to scoot so she can sit beside her. The couch is big enough to be sat on by at least four people but she squeezes herself on Mina’s side.

Mina wraps her arm around Nayeon and they watch a movie to help them sleep.

She can’t help but steal glances from her as the movie plays. Of course, Nayeon would notice her because she wasn’t even doing it discreetly.

“ _Babe,_ I can see you staring. What’s up?”

“You just look really, really beautiful right now.”, Mina says, eyes not leaving her. She’s feeling it. This might be it. The right moment to tell her how she feels.

“I have something to tell you.”

Nayeon turns to her and hums. She pokes her cheek, waiting for her to speak up.

“If you think about it, we actually spent the entire vacation with each other. Complete strangers who make out and hang out.”

“Yeah, we did. Why? Do you wanna make out?” Nayeon asks wiggling her eyebrows.

Mina laughs, knowing the girl is just being playful.

“Let’s do it later.”

She coughs, trying to get the right words out. Her mind is in a frenzy, thinking how she’s going to confess without making it sound weird to her.

“But on a serious note, I had a lot of fun getting to know you. I taught you how to swim and you ended up saving my life. That was impressive.”

Nayeon pushes Mina to lie down and straddles her, both hands on her shoulders.

“As you should! Do you even know how tired I got after? Where’s my reward then?” She begins to poke the girl’s sides and tickles her aggressively.

“Nayeon, stop! Please!” Mina screams and begs, regretting how she let the girl sit on her.

_She’s going to regret doing this to me._

“Give me my reward first then I’ll stop.” Nayeon laughs watching her suffer under her long fingers.

Mina manages to sit up again without letting Nayeon fall on the floor and wraps her in a bear hug to stop her from tickling her even more. She tries to wriggle out of her hold but ends up giving in.

“Okay, I’ll stop. You’re lucky you’re strong.”

Mina loosens her grip, freeing Nayeon’s arms and the girl places them around her neck for an embrace.

 _This feels comfortable,_ both of them think.

With Mina’s head on Nayeon’s chest and Nayeon’s head resting on top of Mina’s. They fit like two puzzle pieces like they’re made for each other.

Nayeon closes her eyes and smiles, _this is what I want._

It’s as if time slowed down for the two of them, stuck in each other’s embrace. Both of them want what’s happening.

One is hesitant and afraid to take a risk while the other one is willing to risk it all. They bask in each other’s warmth, familiarizing each other’s scents.

The future holds a lot of things and Mina knows Nayeon is one of them. She looks up at the girl and caresses her cheek.

Nayeon leans in at the touch, looks at her with so much care.

 _This is_ _definitely the right moment._

“I like you, Nayeon. A lot.” Mina says.

Nayeon was taken aback. Her mind blanks. She should say something, right? She shouldn’t leave a dead air between that, right?!

Mina notices her surprised look and quickly follows up, “Y-you don’t have to say anything. I just want you to know.”

She could just cry right on the spot.

This girl is too precious. Mina is precious. Her heart races. She wants to say something, anything. She wants to say it back but her mind is forbidding her to.

The more she bottles up these emotions, the more it’s dangerous for her in the long run.

Her eyes begin to well, touched by how Mina has treated her since day one and how she is right now, looking and treating her with so much care. A tear rolls down her cheek and Mina’s quick to wipe it with her thumb.

Right here, right now is her happiness.

Nayeon looks her straight in the eyes, looks at her lips, then right back up to her eyes. She slowly leans in to close the gap between them.

It’s a soft kiss, one that makes Mina think of finally jumping into that pit.

She starts to add more pressure into it, pulling Nayeon impossibly close to her. She tilts her head to deepen the kiss, their tongues sliding against each other as if they’re dancing and Mina’s the lead. She kisses her harder and with urgency, wanting every waking moment to last under her touch.

This wanting affection from Nayeon is something she has never felt from anyone else before, not even from Sana. Her hands roam inside Nayeon’s shirt, her warm hands against the skin on her waist, causing the girl to bite her bottom lip. Nayeon drags her tongue on the bitten lip and gently nibbles it to ease the pain.

The room is cold with the A/C on but with how hot they nibble and kiss each other earns them a bit of sweat on their backs.

Adding to Mina’s warm hands roaming on her soft skin, Nayeon feels like she’s burning. But on the inside, it’s forming at the pit of her stomach and she can’t do anything to stop it. Not when Mina’s treating her so well right now, not when she’s being so careful.

She lets out a moan when Mina works her hands up, gently squeezing her breasts.

Nayeon pulls away to place kisses on Mina’s jaw trailing up to her earlobe and nibbles on it, letting out soft moans on her ear. She wants Mina to hear how good she’s making her feel right now because she deserves it.

Her moans urge Mina to slide her tongue on her long neck, peppering it with open-mouthed kisses.

“Don’t leave any marks!”

Mina follows and she ends her trail on her lips and slips her tongue back into her mouth.

The smell of grapefruit invades her nose as she continues kissing her with her hands roaming on her thighs until she squeezes Nayeon’s bottom, making her jerk upwards.

Mina runs her hands up and down Nayeon’s thighs with her fingers widely-spread, wanting to feel every inch of her skin.

Nayeon’s body moves on its own and she rocks her hips back and forth, needing more friction so Mina gives her more by lifting her hips, meeting, and rocking against each other.

Her mind is starting to give out, too clouded by lust and Mina’s touches.

“Bed. Now.”, Nayeon says against her lips, in between breaths.

She wraps her legs tightly on Mina’s waist as the girl carries her to bed.

Mina lowers her slowly until she lays down comfortably on the mattress and they continue their warm and urgent kisses, with Mina grinding a bit harder against Nayeon’s hips.

The room’s getting hotter and hotter and Nayeon removes her shirt to finally feel Mina’s warm hands on her without anything on the way.

Mina pulls away to observe the marvelous beauty of Nayeon, bare (almost) and in front of her.

“You look really beautiful, _fuck._ ”, she groans and dives in for a deep kiss. She runs her hand on Nayeon’s soft and flat stomach, itching to leave marks there but she can’t. Her hand then roams upwards working on her breast, lightly pinching her nipple.

Nayeon moans out in pleasure, “Mina, _ugh_ , that feels so, _so_ good.”

Her breathing becomes heavy with the amount of pleasure she’s been feeling.

Mina’s mouth travels down to her neck until she reaches the girl’s other breast, tongue flickering her nipple, sucking it, making her arch her back upwards.

 _This is so fucking good_.

She wants more of it, wants to be touched where she needs it the most. She struggles in removing her shorts while pulling Mina’s head to her neck to which the girl notices so she does it for her.

Mina pulls down her shorts and underwear and looks straight into Nayeon’s lust-filled eyes with concern.

“May I?”

She wants to combust. Mina is treating her so fucking good.

 _What did I do in my previous life to deserve this much care from one person?_ , Nayeon thinks.

She grabs Mina’s hand and places it on her cheek, “Yes, you may. Thank you for asking, Mina.”

The innocent and adoring look turned into lustful ones when Nayeon drags Mina’s index and middle fingers in her mouth, sucking and running her tongue between them. She pulls it out with a pop and that was all it took for Mina to go into turmoil.

The fingers sucked by the girl is what she’s using to drag along her naked thighs, pulling them apart. She looks at Nayeon’s wet, glistening core in all it’s glory and gives the girl one last look before she goes in, asking for permission again.

There’s so much warmth in Mina’s eyes that it’s making her insides tumble. She feels safe around her.

Nayeon grabs her soft cheeks and kisses the girl’s nose, looking over her swollen lips. She needs to assure her that she wants this too, that she’s not feeling any pressure from her at all.

“Babe, it’s okay.”

Mina gives her a warm smile and leans in for a languid kiss.

When warm fingers reach a certain wetness, arousal shot through Nayeon’s entirety.

Mina moves her fingers, whimpers coming out of the girl's mouth. She muffles the girl’s moans with a kiss as her fingers sink in, working to make this enjoyable for her.

Her thumb rubs against her nub and Nayeon’s quick to throw her head back at how good it feels.

Sure, Nayeon’s made out with someone before she met Mina. Even touched someone but never in her life did she feel this much lust and arousal from anyone. She feels useless with Mina doing all the work but it just feels oh so right.

“Fuck, Mina. You’re so good. Keep doing that.”, Nayeon whimpers as Mina rubs her thumb on her throbbing nub while pumping her fingers in.

Fingers work relentlessly and Mina covers her chest and neck with wet kisses. She doesn’t care if her arm is starting to ache. Just seeing Nayeon in this state, knowing that it’s all because of her is enough to drive her to the edge.

Speaking of the edge, Nayeon’s nearing. She arches her back and bucks her hips as she reaches the climax.

Loud moans fill the room and her nails dig into Mina’s arms and in just a snap, she lets go.

Mina feels the girl's walls tighten around her fingers, thrusting in and out to help her ride her orgasm.

She pulls out and smiles at Nayeon, looking at her like she’s the most beautiful person she’s ever seen. In fact, she is.

Beads of sweat form on her forehead and Mina wipes it for her. She lays on the girl’s chest, both catching their breaths.

After a while of gathering energy, Nayeon speaks up.

“My turn, Mina.”

The only response she got from her is soft snores.

 _Cute_.

Considering the events of the day, she totally has worn her off and now she's peacefully sleeping on her.

Nayeon tries getting her off but she would groan at any tiny movement so she just covers themselves with the comforter and she sleeps naked with Mina on her chest and her heart doing somersaults like there’s no tomorrow. 

_What a good life this is._

* * *

Mina wakes up to an angelic and sweet voice filling the room.

She gets out of bed to see where the sound is coming from and sees that it’s coming from the bathroom where the door is slightly opened.

The owner of the voice sings her heart out to an IU song. She lets her be and lays again in bed still too shocked by last night’s events.

_Did I really just have sex with Nayeon last night?_

Then it hits her.

She remembers that she fell asleep literally right after the girl came. She slaps herself, disappointed in how she ended what possibly could have been one of the best nights of her life.

It actually still is even if she fell asleep.

She hears the bathroom door swing open and pretends to sleep again.

Nayeon sees her close her eyes again and pretends to go along with her. She lays again in bed and attacks Mina’s exposed neck with light and soft kisses.

_She smells just like cherries._

“Mina”, she says with her lips pressed on her neck, “wake up.”

Mina scrunches her nose, trying her best not to break character.

“That tickles.”

She opens her eyes and turns them over, making Nayeon lie on her back.

Her fingers work on her sides and begin tickling her, “This is revenge!”.

They both grow breathless with Mina lying on top of Nayeon. She places her hands on the sides of the girl’s head and looks at her in the most adorable way possible— with her gummy smile that she knows Nayeon can't resist. And hell, she is right.

Nayeon whines and playfully bites her arm, “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Why?”

She says in a whisper, “Because it’s making me feel things.”

Mina opens her mouth, wanting to ask her what type of feeling she gets, but she closes it. Instead, they just look into each other’s eyes with smiles painted on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The girls are probably still asleep because of the party last night HAHAHAHAHA i'm really hoping Mina posts something before the day ends huhuhu
> 
> Anyway, we're in chapter 10 now yayyyy!! If you're all on twitter i hope yall use the hashtag #MinayeonLightning just in case you have any reactions or thoughts or something hahaha
> 
> Don't forget to leave kudos too if you liked the story uwu hehe see you all in the next chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not over of what happened in Adore You. The ending hurts so much HAHAHAHA I'M STILL SAD OKAY??? LET'S ALL BE SAD TOGETHER
> 
> but yeah the ending is I think a very realistic one, as writer @/nabongsbunny said. I don't want an epilogue anymore. Let's leave it at that. I just want Nayeon happy :((((

**T-minus 1 1/2 days**

Mornings are for cuddling and for trying out things within the area.

Nayeon and Mina finally try the transparent kayaks that Sana and Dahyun rode on last time.

They fall in line at the cashier, waiting for their turn to pay for the kayak and its equipment.

Nayeon whines that she’s still not confident in swimming just in case they fall in the water. 

“Baby, you don’t have to be afraid. We’ll be wearing life vests.” Mina says to calm her. The way Nayeon’s panicking is cute. “Have you already forgotten that you swam on your own a few days ago?”

Nayeon pouts, “That was a matter of life and death! This one’s dif—“ Her phone rings. It’s her mom.

_Fuck._

She totally forgot about their weekly family meeting.

_Jeongyeon’s dead. Oh, wait._

“Mina, could you excuse me just a sec. I need to answer an important call.”

It turns out, Jeongyeon reminded her last night of the meeting. She’ll make sure to take full responsibility for this one and to not let her best friend slash secretary get in trouble.

She goes to an empty restaurant and answers the video call.

“Good morning, mom! Hi dad, Seoyeon.”

_“Hello dear, good morning.”_

“Sorry, I totally spaced out. I see that Jeongyeon reminded me of today’s agenda. I just lost track of time and I’m currently on a tour now. Can we talk about this when I get back? I’ll be home in a few days anyway.”

_“Nayeon, dear. Jeongyeon wasn’t able to inform you of this but we just got word from Director Wang’s son. He says that he's agreed to go on a dating rumor with you. When you get back, the two of you will meet and go according to plan. We won't be pushing through with Director Song.”_

“Wait, mom. I told you I’m seeing someone. And what happened last time? About letting me handle it on my own? What was that all about?”

 _“Watch your tone, young lady.”_ Her father says sternly.

 _“I know we said those last time but your father and I have given much thought about it. This one is a win for our company. It will also buy us a lot of time to find the culprit. Don’t worry, this won’t last long.”_ Her mother explains to ease the tension rising.

“Mom, how long will this last?”

_“Probably around four months.”_

She sees Mina making her way to the restaurant and she makes a grave decision. One that affects her and Mina's future.

“Fine, I’ll do it. But make it two months only. A rumor is a rumor. People will still feed on it.”

_“We’ll have to talk to Directory Wang fir—“_

“Two months or I’ll be doing it my way.”

_“Let’s talk more about this when you get back.”_

She ends the call and tries to wipe away the frustration in her face once she sees Mina approaching.

“Everything okay? You look annoyed.” Mina asks, handing her an ice cream cone. “Let me guess. Family business meeting?” She laughs.

All Nayeon could do is nod and smile. She’ll forever be a slave to her last name.

“Hey, cheer up. We’ll be getting on that kayak in twenty minutes. While we wait, do you want to talk about it?”

She shakes her head.

_I don’t want to drag Mina into this mess._

“Can we just order something? I’m kind of hungry.”

Mina gets her a hazelnut latte and a sandwich to satisfy the ‘hunger’ she’s feeling.

After eating, they head to the kayak rental to check on their kayak that is currently being prepared.

They arrived just right on time.

The guide hands them their life vests and paddles. He briefs them of the dos and don’ts in the kayak and some safety measures.

Mina looks and teases Nayeon, “Don’t be like Dahyun, okay babe?”.

Nayeon shoves her and frowns.

Once everything is finished, they walk over to the kayak on the shore and they hop in.

Mina tells Nayeon to sit in front because strong paddlers sit at the back, not that she’s flexing that she’s strong.

“So you’re telling me I’m not strong?!”

“No, I’m simply telling you that I’m stronger than you.” Mina says, sticking out her tongue to tease her even more.

The guide pushes the kayak forward and Nayeon screams in excitement, or rather in fear.

Mina cries, “Stop yelling! We’re barely even off the shore!”

Nayeon just holds onto her paddle and doesn’t use it but treats it as a seatbelt.

“I’m sorry! This is scaring me okay!”

“Nayeon! Babe, just calm down!”

Mina begins paddling in whatever direction to calm the screaming girl with her. Soon enough, Nayeon joins her in doing it.

“Babe, this is really fun. Wait, take a picture of me. I want a candid shot of me paddling.”

It's like the screaming Nayeon she saw earlier did not exist. But when Nayeon requests something, Mina is sure to do it.

It’s the way Nayeon's paddle flew away that has Mina laughing like there’s no tomorrow.

“I think this is worse than what Dahyun did.” She laughs and all Nayeon could do is whine.

Mina paddles to where the thrown paddle is floating and grabs it for her.

Nayeon wants to prove to Mina that she’s strong too so she tells her not to paddle on the way back to the shore just because.

Mina places her hands under her head and leans to let Nayeon do all the work as requested by Nayeon herself.

A few strokes down and she’s already breathless, tired of paddling nonstop and she went as far as three meters from where they were.

“Babe, are we there yet?” Mina asks wearily just to tease her a bit.

Nayeon huffs, “Yah! Mina! Once we get there, watch me hit you with this.”

Mina just laughs at the threat and looks up at the clear blue sky, fully relaxed.

In just a snap, they get to the shore but what Nayeon doesn’t know is that Mina is secretly paddling to help her.

Nayeon can't believe that she has managed to paddle all the way to the shore with her doing all the work, or so she thought.

Mina thinks, _I guess I really am whipped for her_.

“I told you I’m strong!” Nayeon yells while getting off the kayak, doing her little jumps of joy.

Mina shakes her head, smiling at her cute actions.

“I never said you’re weak but okay yeah, you’re strong.”

She grabs the paddle and vest from the girl and returns them to the guide.

Of course, they wouldn’t be ending this fun activity without taking numerous photos on their phones and film cameras.

Nayeon scrolls through her phone while waiting for Mina and coos over their cute and very sweet photos together— photos of them hugging, kissing one’s cheek, and being all clingy.

**T-minus 1 day**

It’s almost seven in the evening when they roam around Dongmun Night Market again. Only this time, to play at the arcade.

They finished eating their food and drinks as they walk along the way.

Mina spots a stall where you knock down pins with a ball and you get prizes. She drags Nayeon there and asks her what she wants to get as a prize.

Nayeon points at the huge dog plushie hanging at the side.

Mina grabs a ball and twirls it in her hand, thinking of a strategic way on how she can knock down the pins in one shot. She throws the ball and knocks down five of the ten pins.

“Ooh tough luck, babe.” Nayeon says, tapping Mina’s shoulder.

She grabs another ball and whispers in Nayeon’s ear, “Blow on this for luck? I think I’ll need it.”

The way Mina said it ticked something in Nayeon. The way her voice dropped and her warm breath hit her skin, it’s driving her insane. Her tempting eyes look at Mina’s and she slowly blows a puff of air on the ball.

“Done.”

The sight made Mina sweat and release a sigh. Little does Nayeon know that everything she does is also driving Mina insane.

She throws the ball and bam, she knocks down the remaining pins and the clerk hands her the huge dog plush toy.

“Here’s the dog plushie. I wouldn’t have gotten it without you, my lucky charm.” She winks at Nayeon.

“I wanna try that one with the gun. I wanna win something for you too.” Nayeon says holding Mina’s hand and the plushie on the other.

Mina feels her cheeks heat up because of what the girl said.

A flirty Nayeon can make her feel things but a sweet Nayeon can make her fall effortlessly.

“Watch and learn, babe. Watch and learn.”

Nayeon grabs the toy gun and aims it at the target. She shoots and Mina gasps.

 _Bullseye_.

The prize they got is a cute blue penguin plushie. One that looks like a long pillow.

“Wah! This is my favorite animal!”

Mina tightly embraces the plushie and nuzzles her face on it, overwhelming Nayeon.

 _Ahhh, she really is so precious,_ she thinks.

“ _Thank you, Nayeonie._ ”, Mina says, her voice dripping with so much aegyo that it pushes Nayeon to hug her tightly.

“You shouldn’t use your aegyo on me. I don’t think I can handle it.” She whispers against the girl’s shoulder, both of their cheeks turning red.

A girl with a bow and arrow distracts both of them and Mina’s eyes immediately follow her.

“Yah, we’re literally being sweet right now and your eyes trail on another girl?!”, Nayeon scolds her.

The girl was pretty but her attention wasn't really on her.

“I was looking at her bow and arrow. I wanna try what she's playing.”, Mina laughs and calmly explains.

She holds her hand and they follow the girl.

It’s an archery stall wherein if you hit a specific area of the target, you get a prize.

“Now _this_ is a challenge.” She says, cracking her knuckles, showing off to Nayeon that she can definitely win something for her again. “Standby, babe. I got this.”

Nayeon nods and lets out an 'ooh'. She lets Mina lead, also wanting to see how good Mina is in this but Mina doesn’t know that Nayeon took archery lessons for three years since middle school.

What’s missing from her is probably an archery instructor certificate because she’s just that good.

Mina grabs the bow and arrow and fixes her stance. She starts pulling the arrow into position and aims for the target with an eye closed and her tongue peeking out.

 _Wrong shoulder position. Too high._ Nayeon judges her. _Wrong head position._ She sighs and crosses her arms, knowing that Mina won’t make the shot.

The girl shoots and the arrow hits the hay right below the target. She laughs nervously, feeling embarrassed at how badly she did. She grabs another arrow and tries again, still using the same positions, making her miss.

That's when Nayeon finally steps up. She can't make her miss on their last try.

“Babe, let me help you.”, she offers.

Mina loudly sighs and nods. She places her hand on Mina’s hip and presses her body against hers, not leaving any space between them. Mina gulps at the sudden contact.

Nayeon’s warm hands drag along her shoulders down to her arms.

“Your shoulder shouldn’t be too high.” She whispers to her ear, fixing her position, placing a small kiss on her shoulder then moves to her neck to place another one. “And your chin level should be parallel to the ground.” She says, tilting the girl’s head to the right angle.

The hairs on the back of Mina’s neck stand and her breathing quickens.

Nayeon lets go of her and takes a step back to see if her new position would work.

Mina lets go and as expected, it worked.

The arrow lands on the red area of the target, earning her two drink coupons at one of Jeju’s clubs.

Nayeon leans over her shoulder and pecks it, looking at the coupon.

The kiss causes Mina’s stomach to twist and turn.

And it happens in a flash.

Mina shoves Nayeon against the car’s door, crashing her lips against hers while fumbling to get the car keys out of her pocket to unlock the car. She opens the door and pushes her in, straddling her once inside.

Nayeon's warm hands begin to roam under her shirt, feeling every inch of her skin, making her moan in pleasure when said warm hands travel to her back removing the hook of her bra.

Lips continue to move on their own, getting deeper and deeper until her mind is clouded with lust and the only touches she craves are Nayeon’s.

She feels hot and sweat starts to trickle down her back and legs, prompting her to discard her top, startling Nayeon with the sight of her mounds directly at her face.

Mina's neck is attacked with wet kisses.

Nayeon sucks and bites her skin, not caring if Mina’s neck will be covered with her marks. She is liking this very dominant Mina who is now rolling her hips against hers, with every bump making her pant harder, causing the windows and windshields to fog.

Her eyes begin to roll at the back of her head with how good Nayeon is in tasting her, tongue dragging along her chest, ending on her hardened nipple.

Mina is so turned that she pulls a few locks of Nayeon’s hair, urging the girl to pin her down on the backseat. She grabs the penguin plushie and puts it under her head as a pillow.

Nayeon begins unbuttoning her shorts, pulling them down to her ankles.

“Wait. Mina, are you sure you want to do this here?”, Nayeon asks with concern, placing both of her hands on the sides of the girl’s head, staring right into her eyes.

“Nayeon, I don’t care as long as it’s with you. Just please _fuck_ me now.” Mina says, breathing heavily, pulling Nayeon by the neck to kiss her again deeply.

She feels like she’s on fire with their tongues meeting, fighting for domination, and warm hands begin to spread her legs wider.

“It’s true what they say about ballerinas being flexible.”, Nayeon comments in between kisses, placing Mina’s leg on the shoulder of the driver’s seat with her hands wandering on her inner thighs until it reaches her glistening core, waiting to be penetrated by her. She moans against the girl’s neck, her wetness coating her long fingers.

Mina’s jaw drops, “Fuck, that feels so good.”

Nayeon pushes a finger inside then another one, fucking her senseless, inducing orgasm upon orgasm from Mina. She helps her ride down from her high, pumping slowly.

They're truly lucky that the parking lot’s almost empty and no one notices their car shaking.

She trails a soft kiss on Mina’s chest, up to her shoulder, neck, her cheek, then on her lips. The way Nayeon stares at her makes her heart swell inside. She really likes Nayeon and she’s already in that phase of no turning back. 

They both sit up and Nayeon grabs Mina’s clothes and a box of tissues to clean her hand and to wipe the sweat off of Mina’s body.

Mina's surprised at how Nayeon is taking care of her. Making her mouth useless at the moment.

The girl brushes off the hairs stuck on her forehead and wipes the sweat on her face. She smiles softly at her and caresses both of her cheeks. “Thank you, Nayeonie.”

“You should get dressed. I’ll drive.”

The one-hour drive back to the hotel was filled with a comforting silence. Mina sleeps on the passenger seat with her fingers intertwined with Nayeon’s.

Nayeon checks up on her every now and then, smiling at how angelic and peaceful she looks.

 _No such person exists like Mina,_ Nayeon thinks. _No one’s as perfect as her. I think I like her. No, I know I like her._

 _I_ _like you, Mina._

* * *

**T minus 1/2 day**

It’s their last night in Jeju. The last day of their summer vacation before heading back to the city to face reality once again.

Mina checks her flight details and sees that her plane leaves at one in the afternoon. She asks Nayeon what time her plane leaves and the girl answers her, “Around 11:30 am. Why?”

“Cool, we could go to the airport together. I’ll drop you off first then I’ll return the car to the rental.”

They’re currently having dinner before consuming the coupons Mina won.

What better way to end their last night in Jeju than to party at the club.

“Have you already finished packing your stuff?”, Mina asks.

Nayeon hums while twisting her fork to grab an ample amount of pasta.

“We’re not gonna get drunk tonight right? You know we’re leaving early tomorrow.”

“I know. Just the right kind of drunk, don’t worry.” Mina assures her.

But what happens that night doesn’t go according to plan.

After getting their drinks with the coupons, the two of them take shot after shot and go against other people in a game of beer pong.

They’re unstoppable in this, feeling thirsty already with how they’re winning three times in a row.

“Babe, can we purposely lose the next one? I wanna fucking drink!”

“Let’s bail on this one and buy another bottle and get people drunk.”, Nayeon suggests, laughing at the idea of her spending money on strangers and getting them wasted. At least she added some fun to those people.

They find a group of possibly some college kids just like them and joins them on the dance floor with Nayeon showering them with free drinks.

A black-hooded person, who goes around the club taking pictures of the partygoers, approaches the group they’re with.

“Do you guys want a picture? This will be uploaded on our social media pages.”

They all agree and position themselves. Nayeon and Mina stand behind the crowd and smack their lips together for the photo.

What was once a smack turns into a heated make-out session between them right in front of the group they're treating.

“Whoa, I didn’t know those girls are together.” One guy reacts.

“They were so obvious, you’re just too blind.” A girl responds.

The guy approaches and interrupts their make-out session, “Hey, you didn’t tell me that you already have a girlfriend.”, He tells Nayeon. “What the hell were those flirty looks then?”

Mina balls her hands into fists and Nayeon stands in front of her, “Isn’t it obvious that I’m with someone? And what flirty looks are you even talking about?”

“You were flirting with me! Looking at me like you wanna fuck me or something.”

“Excuse me?! I was looking at you because we were looking for a group who we can treat with some drinks for the night and I just happened to notice that you all seem to have ran out of alcohol so stop fucking assuming.”, Nayeon hisses, wrapping her arms around Mina’s neck.

A girl from the group speaks up, “Well, you aren’t wrong about the drinks part. Anyway, sorry about him and thank you again for the treat. Don’t let him ruin your night.”

“Too late.” Nayeon says, she turns to the guy, “Next time, have some manners. And know who you’re talking to first.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Nayeon sends a text to the manager of the club and he walks up to them with two huge bouncers on the side.

“Hello, I’m the club’s manager. Ma’am, is anyone bothering you here?”

The guy’s eyes widen in shock, feeling scared and embarrassed of what he’s done. He thinks that he crossed someone really powerful. A gorgeous girl like her, she's for sure someone who has a lot of influence.

“I’m sorry. This won’t happen again. Please forgive me.” He bows immediately and retreats behind his friends’ backs.

“I think there’s no more problem here. Thank you.” She smiles at the manager.

Mina watched it all unfold in front of her. How Nayeon fumed over the guy and how she used whatever connection she has into making him apologize and bow at a ninety-degree angle.

_This business major is smart, hot, and powerful. Totally my type._

“Babe, that was scary. What was that all about?”

“Baby, some people are just rude and they need to be taught a lesson… to scare them a little to learn?” Nayeon smirks and gives her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Whatever that was, a powerful Nayeon is someone she’s willing to be under... in bed.

Both of them naked, bodies grinding against each other. The smell of alcohol in their breaths fill their noses, and the release they’re looking for is provided.

It was indeed a wild night of loud moans echoing in the room, tongues exploring bodies, tasting each other. Mina’s unsure where she got the libido for tonight.

She aggressively rams her hips onto Nayeon’s and she swears she heard the bed creak with how rough the two of them are.

They go round after round until they’re both completely spent and full of sweat, laying on the bed until sleep catches up to them. Little did they know, the sun's up.

Nayeon wakes up to the sound of her alarm.

It’s six in the morning and Mina is lying beside her, naked. 

Discarded clothes and purses on the floor greet her as she rushes to the bathroom to shower.

Mina bolts up the moment she feels the warmth beside her disappear. She immediately dresses up and knocks on the bathroom door.

“Babe? I’ll just take a shower and put my luggage in the car. I’ll be quick.”

Nayeon shouts an ‘okay’ and off Mina goes.

A lot of thoughts run across Mina’s mind while applying soap to her body, still feeling a bit of a headache and her arms a bit sore.

_That was one hell of a night._

She got so drunk that she almost puked inside the car when Nayeon helped her get on the passenger seat. Good thing Nayeon managed to drive them back to the hotel alive.

She doesn’t remember much of what happened when they got to the parking lot of the hotel. All she knows is she had rough and wild sex with Nayeon.

**[Sana, 6:15 am]**

**_Mitang~_ **

**_What time will you be arriving?_ **

**[Mina, 6:28 am]**

**_Around 2 pm. See ya later_ **

Mina packs the remainder of her stuff in her luggage and she heads to the parking lot.

After locking up the car, she quickly makes her way up to Nayeon’s room only to see her locking up her room.

“Babe, are you good?”

Nayeon hums, “Breakfast then?”

Breakfast for their very, very last day is at a restaurant called Narnia which offers one of the most stunning views of the island.

They both squint their eyes the moment they step out of the car due to the sun’s brightness.

Nayeon pulls out her sunglasses and holds onto Mina tightly, sleep still filling her eyes.

The table Mina got reserved is outside. Just perfect to get the right amount of sunlight and view.

“How on earth have you gotten us a table reserved? Like, that quick?”, Nayeon questions.

“Well, that’s what happens when you call ahead of time, babe.”, Mina laughs, earning a slap on the thigh from the girl. “On a serious note though, I called while I was on my way back to your room. Let’s say I did my research on where I can take you out for food.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

To say that Nayeon is impressed is an understatement. She’s beyond impressed by Mina.

They quickly eat their breakfast and walk around the area for some last-minute pictures and maybe a few kisses in between.

“Babe, how wild was I last night? In general, I mean.” Mina asks, trying to remember the things she did the night before, hoping there wouldn't be any embarrassing things.

Nayeon laughs remembering one specific moment where Mina was so loud while she was riding her.

“Do you even know what you said last night when you were riding me?”

Mina’s cheeks redden and she just wants to disappear on the spot. How can she embarrass herself when she’s having sex with Nayeon?

“Fuck, please tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing or stupid.”

“You were actually cute, it made me laugh, and then you started kissing my neck then I got turned on again by you.”, Nayeon bluntly explains. “You came up to my ear and whispered ‘I can’t wait to try a strap-on with you’. That made me laugh so hard.” She laughs loudly, clapping her hands like a seal.

 _Nothing feels more embarrassing than this,_ Mina thinks.

“Don’t worry, for you, I’m willing to try that one.” Nayeon winks and walks ahead of Mina back to the car.

Mina's feet suddenly stops working, her lips turning white. She sighs, feeling disappointed in herself.

First, she sleeps after doing it the first time. Then, second is this one.

_What else, Mina? What else?_

She hops in the driver’s seat and buckles her seatbelt, shaking her head.

“I’m truly sorry for saying _that_ last night. I didn’t know my mouth is filthy as hell when having sex.”

“You’re so cute. Stop, it’s okay. You were also kind of rough but I _loved_ it. Every. Bit. Of. It.” Nayeon mutters, biting her bottom lip in the end. 

"If we weren't catching any flights today, I'd seriously fuck you now." 

In just a few hours, they’ll both be officially parting ways.

One flies back to Seoul first while the other one waits. Both of their hearts on their sleeves, not wanting to end what they have.

If they could trade in their lives just to remain on this island with each other, they would do it in a heartbeat.

They reach the departure area and Nayeon unbuckles her seatbelt, not moving from her seat. She just stares at the ground with her heart racing.

Mina tightens her grip on the stirring wheel, can’t even turn to face the girl she’s dropping off.

They stay like that for a few minutes until Mina finally has the courage to speak.

“So this is it.”

“Yup, it is.”

Mina opens the trunk to take out Nayeon’s luggage. She also takes the liberty to grab a cart for her.

Nayeon finally gets out of the car to help Mina place her things on the cart. She looks up and sees Mina staring with sadness tinged in her eyes.

Her heart races as time ticks, counting down to her boarding time.

“Mina…”

“Nayeon…”

They both call at the same time.

“You go first.”, Mina says.

“Uhm… So I guess… I need to go. Thank you for spending this vacation with me. I’ll see you around in Seoul.” Nayeon frowns. She tries to hold back the tears forming in the back of her eyes and nods, turning her back on Mina but her feet don’t move.

It’s as if she’s waiting for Mina to tell her not to go, to tell her to stay just a bit, and cherish their remaining moments together.

When she doesn’t hear anything from her, she steps forward.

“Nayeon, wait!” Mina grabs her arm to turn her around and face her. “See me again.”

“What?”

“I want to see you again. When we get back to Seoul. I don’t want to leave what we have here in Jeju. I really like you, Nayeon so please, go out with me again.”

They look into each other's eyes and Nayeon leans forward to embrace her, to fill her lungs with the familiar scent once more. She cups Mina's face and looks her intently in the eyes.

This girl just bared her soul for her. She knows that Mina’s intentions are good and her heart is pure.

“Mina…”

She bites her lip, leaning her forehead against hers.

“Mina, I…”

She leans in for a deep kiss.

The girl’s soft lips cloud her mind, make the insides of her chest go wild, urging her to say something.

It’s a battle of the heart and brain for her.

_What should I do?_

In the end, only one can win.

“Mina, I like you. So much.” Nayeon finally admits. “I like everything about you.”

The confession surprises Mina. She wasn’t expecting Nayeon would say it in this manner or even tell her at all.

Now it’s clear that she and Nayeon are on the same page. They both like each other.

“I’ll see you back in Seoul?”, Mina asks.

Her heart is jumping for joy and the butterflies in her stomach go wild.

This is most likely the best thing that’s ever happened in her life— the moment she met Nayeon.

She pulls Nayeon again for a kiss and says against her lips, “I know you’ll be busy but I’ll text you.”

“I'll see you in Seoul.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!!! 
> 
> What are you guys expecting from them when they're back in Seoul????? Hmmm...... let me know your thoughts!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get to know what happens in Seoul!

“Mina, where are you? I’m already outside.”

“I’m on my way out! Just had a bit of trouble with my luggage.”

The airport’s packed but since summer is about to end, the number of people appears to be twice as many than the usual since school is about to begin again.

Mina spots Dahyun among the people waiting in the arrival area of Incheon Airport.

“Dahyunie!”, she pulls her friend for a quick hug, “How have you been? Where’s Sana?”

“Before me, how was _your_ vacation? You got the girl?”

She laughs at her friend and leaves a blank answer, not wanting to jinx whatever she and Nayeon has. She's contented knowing that they both have mutual feelings for each other.

Just by even remembering it puts a huge smile on her face.

“Earth to Mina, are you there?”

“Sorry, uhm. Where’s Sana?”

Dahyun looks at her suspiciously, deciding not to pry anymore of the real deal between her and Nayeon.

“Sana’s in your loft actually, preparing some food for us.”

“And who allowed her in?”

“You did, stupid! Don’t worry, we didn’t have sex in your bed nor on your couch. Maybe just in the bathroom.”

Mina slaps her friend on the arm, disgusted by the TMI.

“I trust that Sana wouldn’t betray me like that.”

“If you didn’t notice, I was being sarcastic.”, Dahyun chuckles.

She helps Mina place her luggage in the trunk and they drive back to her loft.

“Anyway, where’s Chaengchaeng?”

“Chaeng is at her parents’ while Momo’s still in Japan. I think she’ll be back in two days.”

Mina feels her eyelids getting heavier by the minute.

“Can you just wake me up when we’re there? I had a pretty wild and tiring night.”

What Dahyun wanted to say was, “Yeah, looks like it. The hickeys on your neck say so”, but she doesn’t. She just nods at her and silently laughs, making her shoulders shake.

As soon as they step inside her loft, they see Sana sprawled on the couch, completely submerged in the movie she’s watching.

The food she prepared is all set on the table. It’s just a simple get-together between friends before the semester starts.

Mina throws a bag of souvenirs at her to get her attention.

“Mitang! You’re back! How was the rest of your vacation with hmm…?” Sana winks.

“Shut up, let’s eat. I’m hungry.”

Once again, she avoids the topic of Nayeon. It just sinks into her now that there is an indefinite answer as to when she'll see her again. It makes her a bit sad now that she thinks about it but she has to think about her priorities first: going back to work and school.

They dive in on the pasta and soup that Sana made and they watch along with her.

Mina plays with the hem of her shirt while the couple cuddles up on the carpeted floor. She starts to think if now is the time to tell them about Nayeon and her tongue is itching to talk about the girl.

“So…”, she begins. “Nayeon and I are kind of a thing now.”

Her friends don't seem to have heard her and she speaks up again, much louder this time.

“She told me that she likes me too.”

They’re still not paying attention to her.

“Nayeon and I had sex and now we’re a thing!”, she finally yells to get their attention.

“What?!”, Dahyun and Sana raise their voice together.

“So saying that we had sex is the only thing that will get your attention?!”

“Of course not, Mitang! Well… kind of. Kidding.” Sana reasons out. “But really? You and Nayeon are a thing now?”

Mina sighs, “Yes, it’s true.”

Dahyun grabs the remote and turns off the TV.

“Then what are you waiting for? Tell us all about it now!”

“No, wait! We need alcohol.”

Sana stands up and walks to Mina’s pantry to grab two bottles of wine and some wine glasses. She walks back to them and places them on the table, making sure to also fill those glasses.

“Okay, now we’re ready to hear all about her.”

Mina begins telling them the story of how she and Nayeon started dating.

Sana reacts at how confident and sweet she was with Nayeon but not with her.

“Sana, I transferred to another country to protect you!” She defends.

Dahyun coughs loudly to get their attention, “Sana’s girlfriend is here.”

The Japanese girls both look at Dahyun and laugh at her and Sana clings to her side, kissing her cheek.

“Aww, looks like someone’s getting jealous.”

“And looks like someone will be single after tonight.”, Dahyun jokes.

“No! We are not going to break up!”

Mina laughs at her friends. Their history is now an inside joke within the group so there really is no point with Dahyun getting jealous.

Hell, Sana and Dahyun are 'endgame' as Sana would say and Mina can feel it too.

She continues telling the story and the couple cheer when she got to the surfing accident and to the time Nayeon confessed to her.

Sana notices that the way Mina smiles just by talking about Nayeon is truly different. Not that she is jealous but because she knows Mina in and out. As a former lover and as a best friend.

_It’s like she’s already in love with her._

They finish their drinks and Mina walks the couple to the elevator.

Sana nudges her shoulder, “Mina, I’m glad you met her. I’m happy to see you this happy and _in love_.”

“What makes you think that I already love her? We haven’t even dated here in Seoul.”, Mina giggles then smacks her lips together, feeling nervous.

“I know when you’re in love, Mina. Maybe you just don’t know it yet. Anyway, we’ll see you at school. Love you.”

Feeling intrigued by her best friend’s statement, Mina takes mental note of it. She walks back to her apartment and takes a bath to get ready for bed.

* * *

**1:00 pm, Incheon Airport**

Nayeon arrives in Seoul in secrecy, covered up with a cap and sunglasses to hide from the prying eyes of the public.

Her driver pulls up at the bay and places her luggage in the trunk.

“Welcome back, Ms. Im. I hope you had a great vacation. Your parents are waiting for you in the backyard for some afternoon tea.”, he greets.

_Great, looks like I’m back in business again._

**[Nabongs, 1:30 pm]**

**_Free for dinner tomorrow?_ **

**[Park Josin, 1:52 pm]**

**_Your treat? :P_ **

**[Nabongs, 1:53 pm]**

**_Obviously_ **

**_Are you down?_ **

**[Park Josin, 1:56 pm]**

**_Yup! Pick me up at my place. Bring Jeong too._ **

**_I missed us three together hehe_ **

**[Nabongs, 2:00 pm]**

**_Got it, Park!_ **

**_See ya xx_ **

“They got the garden remade again?”, Nayeon asks when she sees their front garden with new plants and ornaments.

“Yes, Ms. Im. Your mother also replaced the lamp posts to fit the new look.”

“Wow, she has time to redecorate the garden but not to fix the internal problems of the company?”, she murmurs.

Her parents disappoint her more and more as she grows but all she thinks of is that this is for her and her sister’s future even if it breaks her heart piece by piece.

All she wants is to live a normal life but who is she to complain? She greatly benefits from this anyway.

Nayeon walks to the garden and sees her dad on the phone while her mom scrolls through her tablet, probably reading the news. She sighs, _here we go again._

“Hi mom, dad.”, she greets them with a smile.

Her mom stands up with open arms, “Hello, my dear. How was your vacation? Did you get a tan? You got a bit darker.”

She nods, “What’s with the afternoon tea? Don’t you guys have any meetings today?”

“Your father and I decided to skip today’s meetings to speak with you about some matters regarding the PR we discussed last time. Now, sit. Let’s just wait for your father to end his call.”

Nayeon grabs a croissant and takes a sip of her tea with a huge frown on her face to make it very obvious to her parents that she is not liking one bit of them controlling the PR stunt, which was supposed to be _her_ PR stunt.

She really thought she could, for once, get to control how things would run. Her dad finishes his call and places the phone in his pocket.

“Nayeon, welcome back. You look amazing as always. Looks like the beach is the perfect place for you.” He laughs, “Anyway, your mother and I will make this quick so you could get some rest. I’m sure you’re very tired. Will you be staying here tonight?”

“No, dad. I’ll be going back to my flat after this. I’ll be having dinner with Jihyo tomorrow night and probably with some other friends. We just want to catch up before the semester starts.”

“That’s alright, dear. Just relax first before school starts.” Her father coughs and grabs his tablet to relay to her the pointers for the PR stunt that _they_ will be leading. “Anyway, I already talked to Director Wang. His son just closed a partnership with a music label and would like to boost his name in the industry, just to help him make some noise and of course, you’re no stranger to people.”

_I know, dad. It’s a curse._

“So we thought that this is also a good opportunity with our PR. You don’t need to think about doing or worrying about anything anymore. We’ll do everything behind and you just simply do what we ask of you to do.” her father explains.

Nayeon clicks her tongue, “Then what happened with the meeting we had before? About me choosing how I wanted the PR to be done? Are you just not true to your words, dad? Even to your own daughter?”

“We just don’t want to burden you with anything, dear. You have a lot on your plate, honey, such as school, the company, and attending social events. This is us helping lessen the tasks for you.”

“Okay, I get your point but why can’t we have it my way? My idea’s pretty simple too. I just tell the press that I’m seeing someone. And it’s Mina. That’s it.”

Her father straightens his back and breathes through his nose, thinking if he should allow for this info to be publicized. His daughter with someone, who he doesn’t even know, with her family background even unknown.

He turns to her calmly, “Nayeon, I’m just afraid that this will be taken negatively. We don’t even know where this woman you’re seeing came from. She’s probably a nobody who just works somewhere unpleasant.”

This pisses Nayeon off.

_Who the fuck is he to judge Mina?_

“Are you hearing yourself, dad?! Why don't you make an effort to get to know her? Why don’t you try and give it a chance?”, she pleads.

No matter how much anger she’s feeling right now, she doesn’t explode and tries, even more, to persuade her parents to proceed with her plan. She just can’t give up yet. This is her happiness on the line and she doesn’t want to lose Mina.

Her mom cuts in the conversation, “Okay, Nayeon.”

“What?”

“Your father and I will think about it. We’ll think about this thoroughly.”

Her eyes beam in shock, “Really, mom?! Oh my god, thank you!” She stands and runs to her mom to hug her tightly. “You really won’t regret this, I promise.”

_The fight has just begun._

It started to drizzle when Nayeon reaches her flat. Feeling so drained from today’s events from telling Mina her feelings to that stressful afternoon tea with her parents. She wants to end the night lightly.

Lying in bed, she thinks of the things that can take her mind off of things. She grabs her phone and dials a number that’s now too familiar. It’s ringing and someone finally picks up.

“Hi.” Nayeon begins.

“ _Hey”,_ the voice on the other line says, “ _What made you decide to call?”_

Nayeon smiles and twirls her hair around her index finger, like a high school girl talking to a crush.

“Well, I wasn’t able to send you a text when I landed. I got swamped with responsibilities as soon as I got out of the airport. And I just want to hear your voice. And... I kinda miss you already.”

The voice laughs, “ _You’re not alone. I miss you too. I miss hearing your annoying laugh, the way you’d feed me while I drive, and your hugs and kisses.”_

“Ugh, I hate that you’re not here right now. I would seriously bombard you with some wet kisses if you were here. Tonight sucks without you, Mina. I need your cuddles.” Nayeon says sadly.

The only person that could make her feel better is somewhere in Seoul and she can’t even tell the entire world that she likes her.

_“Don’t worry, babe. We’ll be seeing each other soon, right? I understand you need to catch up on your responsibilities. Just know that I’m always available for you to text and call.”_

The two of them stay up until two in the morning talking about the most random things getting to know each other.

Nayeon learns that Mina was born in the US and that her English name is Sharon but other than that, their conversation was mostly about them gushing over their pets. Mina shares that she hasn’t seen her dog, Ray, in years and that she’s afraid he might forget about her as he’s getting older. Nayeon tells her of Kookeu, her little baby boy, how he would always sleep beside her when she’s at home. She also shares that she and her sister created a social media page dedicated just for him but the last photo posted was dated two years ago, that they now have abandoned the page.

It’s the type of steady night Nayeon is yearning for. Mina really did take her mind off of the negativity and she’s now sleeping soundly with her phone on and the call still ongoing.

Nayeon told Mina to stay on the line until they reach the call limit.

In Mina’s loft, she stares at her phone and smiles with her drowsy eyes, listening to Nayeon’s soft snores, picturing the girl is sleeping beside her.

The beating of her heart quickens and wants to explode with so much happiness. The butterflies in her stomach are going crazy as well.

She’s in too deep on this thing she has with Nayeon, hoping everything will work out for the both of them. She keeps a positive mind.

“Good night, Nayeon. Sweet dreams.”

* * *

It’s rush hour and people flood the streets to get to where they’re going.

Cars also begin filling up the road causing traffic ahead and Jeongyeon is getting impatient. She checks her GPS to see which route she can take to quickly get to Nayeon’s flat.

“Aish, Im Nayeon, why do you have to crave for hot pot today?”, she curses under her breath.

Who would’ve thought that getting food around Seoul can take you up to almost two hours? She finally arrives with the food in her hand and quickly rings the bell.

“Yoo Jeongyeon, get your ass in here!” Nayeon welcomes her. “By the way, Jihyo’s got our cake and a bottle of Sake. Just place the food on the table.”

Jihyo runs up to Jeongyeon to give her a hug, finally getting the chance to show some affection to her longtime friend without the meddling eyes of the press.

“You’re not blonde the last time we met, right?” 

“Maybe…”, she laughs, “Hey, when are you going back to Italy?”

“Before we get to the story-telling, let’s eat first, yeah?” Nayeon says, placing both of her arms around friends’ heads. “God, I missed the three of us.”

Jihyo shoves her, “Stop being dramatic, let’s eat!”

They open the food Jeongyeon brought and start eating. It's a large bowl of hot pot with different cuts of premium meat and fresh vegetables.

Nayeon slurps on some noodles and asks how her friends have been when she was gone. Jeongyeon says that she had been working part-time at a bakery Nayeon’s father had recommended since she was jobless with Nayeon out of town. Jihyo shares shocking news that leaves both of her friends overjoyed.

“I have some good news for you guys. I’ll be staying in Seoul.”

“What?!”, Both Nayeon and Jeongyeon scream, dropping both of their chopsticks to pull Jihyo in for a hug.

The thought of the three of them being together again after so many years will definitely keep Nayeon sane.

Jihyo is one of the two people, now three(?) including Mina, who she trusts with all her life.

Now, how can Nayeon trust Mina when she hasn’t even told her her entire identity?

“Tell us what happened. What happened?”, Nayeon squeals in excitement.

“Well, my parents decided that I should continue my studies here in Seoul and at the same time, I could study the ropes of the company which sucks but I’m here! Plus, I get to be with my girl.” Jihyo smirks and Jeongyeon throws a tissue at her, pretending to throw up. “I feel sorry for your single ass, Jeongyeon.”

“I don’t care. I’m happy with my life as it is.”, she sticks out her tongue at her friend.

Nayeon’s phone vibrates, indicating that she received a message. They continue filling her in of what’s been happening around the city and their peers. Her phone vibrates again. And again. And again.

“Uhh, Nayeon. That seems urgent? Aren’t you gonna get that?”, Jihyo asks.

Nayeon checks her phone to see that Mina’s been bombarding her with messages. Looks like someone misses her a lot but she decides not to answer yet.

“I’ll check it later.”

Speaking of Mina.

“I have something to tell you guys.”

Her two friends lean in, ready to absorb whatever gossip or juicy information will come out of her mouth.

“I'm seeing someone. No, I like someone. Ugh, I don’t know how to describe what we are but we both like each other and things already happened between us and she’s so caring and sweet!”, Nayeon rambles.

“Is this the same person that taught you how to swim?” Jeongyeon asks, taking a bite of the meat on her bowl.

"Wait, you know how to swim now?", Jihyo chimes in.

Nayeon nods and Jeongyeon releases a long hum, “What industry is her family in? Let’s do some background che—“

“No need.”, Nayeon interrupts, “She’s a barista somewhere in Apgujeong but she mentioned that her family has a huge business back in Japan and she’s also like us”, motioning for her and Jihyo.

“Like us how?”

“She was supposed to manage their business too but she fought with her parents and told them that their family business is none of her interest. According to her, it was a long discussion but they ended up letting her live her life how she wants it to be.”

Jihyo was taken aback, “Oh wow, I wish all parents can be that understanding. I hope I get to meet her though. Does she already know that you’re an Im?”

Nayeon lets out a nervous chuckle, “That’s the problem. She only knows my family has a business but she doesn’t know that I’m an Im... yet.”

Now, she’s the one receiving the tissues Jeongyeon has been throwing.

“Yah, Nayeon! This is going to be a problem for both you and her. What if this is much deeper for her now? What, then? How are you going to explain your life to her? You might end up getting her hurt.”

“Hey! Why do you think of her feelings more than mine? I’m your friend here, aren’t I?!” Nayeon groans, “I’ll tell it to her soon. Just let me think of a plan.”

She promises to tell Mina soon about her life and how it works but how soon is soon? That is the question Nayeon doesn’t know how to answer. She’s happy now and she’s being selfish putting her own happiness first and not thinking of the hurt Mina’s going to experience.

The friends finish their food and Jihyo says goodbye, telling them that she has to pick up Tzuyu from an event on the other side of the city.

Jeongyeon stays for a while to remind Nayeon of her agenda for tomorrow.

“You have a meeting with some of the board tomorrow at 5:30 pm. Your driver will pick you up tomorrow at five so you better be ready by then. There will be food and as per your dad, it’s going to be at the Country Club.”

Nayeon washes the dishes and clicks her tongue, “Wait, what date is it tomorrow?”

“August 31.”

“Shit, school officially starts in a few days. Anyway, what’s the meeting for tomorrow about?”

“Everything. Your PR, the status of the investigation, and the announcement of a new board member.” Jeongyeon says, scanning through her tablet. “That’s about it. Don’t stay up too late okay? I’ll see you after the meeting tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you. Thanks, Jeong. Drive safely.”, Nayeon wipes her hands on her apron and gives her friend an embrace, thanking her for tonight’s company.

After cleaning up, she heads to the bathroom for a nice hot bath. Just what she needs after a long and tiring day. She picks up her phone and dials Mina’s number, putting her on speaker as she moves her hands around the tub to create some bubbles.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up…”

_“Hello? Hi baby, how was your day?”_

“Baby? Ooh, I like the sound of that.” The voice on the other line laughs. “But yeah, my day went well. I just fixed my flat and had dinner with my best friends. What about you? How was work?”

_“Work was okay. There’s just this girl who keeps on asking me out, kind of annoying but she's been giving me a good amount of tip.”_

“Mina, you do know I have connections right? Send me a picture of her and I’ll gladly pay her a visit.”, she threatens but as a joke which Mina finds incredibly cute. A territorial Nayeon is something she isn’t expecting.

_“Is someone jealous?”_

“What if I am, Mina? What are you going to do about it?” Nayeon hisses, massaging her arms and body with the soap.

_“Is this a different version of the jealous Nayeon I saw back in Jeju?”_ Mina laughs. _“Anyway, I’m walking back to my place now. I just closed up the shop. What are you doing now?”_

“Oh, just you know, in the bathroom. Taking a nice warm bath”, she moans, knowing how it will rile up Mina. “My neck and back actually hurt a bit. I think I need a massage, wish you were here, _babe_.", she says in a deep voice. And then she ends the call.

She’s laughing so hard, knowing that Mina’s probably rushing to her place completely flustered by how seductive she sounded. She finishes washing up and lays in bed, waiting for Mina’s call or message.

It’s almost 1:00 am when Mina sends her a text.

**[Mina, 1:10 am]**

**_I’m sorry it took me a while to get back to you._ **

**_I just had to take care… of a few things after that call_ **

**[Nayeon, 1:14 am]**

**_Babe, it’s okay if you jerked off after that call. I know that turned you on ;)_ **

**[Mina, 1:16 am]**

**_You’re disgusting hahaha_ **

**_Babe, I’ll talk to you tomorrow? I need to be up early to fix and buy some school stuff._ **

**[Nayeon, 1:20 am]**

**_Okay, babe. Good night_ ** 😘

**[Mina, 1:22 am]**

**_Good night, pretty girl_ **

* * *

Mina wakes up to her alarm and stretches in bed. She has to go to school to get herself enrolled for the semester then she's off to work. Of course, she doesn’t forget to drop Nayeon a good morning message before going about her day.

She runs into Momo in school and they both have brunch after enrolling. They talk about the things they did after their Jeju trip and the upcoming semester.

Momo tells her that she’s excited for the upcoming recital for juniors since both of them will be participating in it. She tells Mina that she might join a hip-hop group for that but she’s thinking if she should also join an all-girl dance group. Mina, on the other hand, tells her that she might apply for a slot on the soloists. She wants to perform an original.

“You should totally do it, Mitang! You should even invite your family to watch you.”, Momo encourages.

“Yeah, I will. I hope I get picked though.”, she checks her watch and stands, “Shoot, I should go ahead. My shift’s about to begin. See you, Momoring!”

**[Nayeon, 11:10 am]**

**_Good morning, babe. Have fun today at work. I’ll be busy the entire afternoon and evening with meetings._ **

**_Talk to you later_ ** 😘

**[Mina, 12:03 pm]**

**_Hi babe!!! Don’t worry about it. Don’t overwork yourself, okay?_ **

**_Talk to you soon_ **

Nayeon arrives at the country club wearing her pink blazer and skirt ensemble looking like the next CEO of Im Enterprises. Well, she actually is.

The people in the meeting are all men and her parents, except she sees a familiar face from afar.

“Well, if it isn’t Im Nayeon.”

“Well, if it isn’t big time musician, Mr. Jackson Wang.”

“Not a big time. Yet.”

Jackson and Nayeon go way back. He’s one of her close peers back in high school but then he transferred to Hong Kong to expand their business but he eventually ended up pursuing music and now here he is in a partnership with a music agency in the hopes of making a name for himself in the industry. They’re very good friends and nothing more.

In a sense, Jackson is also like Mina. The only difference between them is that Jackson didn’t have to fight with his parents to get what he wants. He asked and they gave it to him. If only life could be that simple for her but she’s an Im.

The meeting has begun and the food is laid on the table. They discuss the first objective: introduce a new board member.

“Everyone, please meet Mrs. Chou from the Chou Medical Group. They have started a partnership with Im Enterprises providing them with our latest technologies in the medical field. Mrs. Chou, please meet my daughter, Nayeon, and the rest of the board members.”

_Mrs. Chou? Probably the mother of Jihyo’s girlfriend?_

The second agenda is the investigation. According to one of the private investigators they hired, they are close to catching the culprit. With the pieces of evidence they found the past few weeks, they are slowly connecting the dots. They’re now sure that the culprit spreading the misinformation is definitely one of their employees. They just need to check the logs and database to catch him.

“Okay, so if you can catch him then what’s my PR still got to do with this?”, Nayeon firmly asks.

Director Wang turns to her, “Ms. Im, the PR is still needed to get the public’s attention on you instead of the company. This could also buy us more time to finish and clean up the investigation. The dating news between you and Jackson can both benefit us, to be honest.”, he laughs.

Nayeon smacks her lips together and sighs, ready to fight against this PR stunt they’re thinking of making her agree to.

“Look, I understand the advantage the company will get here. This is my PR and shouldn’t I be the one to make the decision here? What good will this bring to Jackson?”

Jackson asks, “Yeah, dad. I can put my name out there on my own. I don’t need Nayeon’s help here. Don’t you think I’ll do good once I debut?”.

Nayeon's dad cuts in, “Kids, we both understand your concerns here but this PR between you two will help not only both companies but the two of you as well. Jackson, you can use Nayeon as leverage to be more well known, to get the public talking about you. And Nayeon, a dating rumor can get people talking about you nonstop. This helps boost our company's brand a lot. As part of this agreement, Jackson will also bring in clients for us to work with. We can expand to the music industry too. Think about this, my dear. It’s for our future.”

She sighs and closes her eyes. She hates that she understands the situation and she hates how she’s even considering this.

“This PR lasts for only two months. If you want more than that, then I won’t do it.”

“Okay, done. Deal. We’ll be informing you when it will be released. Does anyone else object to this? Seeing none, then today’s meeting is adjourned.”

Nayeon grabs her bag and heads to the driveway to wait for her driver. She shakes her head, annoyed at how she agreed on this stupid idea her family is putting her into. She gets startled when Jackson places an arm around her shoulder, just like how they were back then. Like good old friends.

“This fucking sucks, Nayeon. Just when I thought I got away from this shit. My dad doesn’t even think I’ll be successful. Do you know what he told me to get my ass coming here?”

“What lie did he tell you?”

Jackson laughs, “You’ll find this funny and annoying too, I swear. He told me the “kids” of the board will all be attending. That "it would be a great way for me to socialize and catch up with everyone". My sentimental ass believed him that’s why I was happy when I saw you a while ago. I thought the others would be here too.”, he sighs.

“At least, this will only last for two months.”

Her driver pulls up on the driveway and she says goodbye to Jackson. He even closes the door for her.

_S_ _till the gentleman that he is. I’m glad he’s still the same guy I know._

A black-hooded person nearby sends a message. “It’s done. I’ll email the photos ASAP.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter's been delayed. I was busy because of Blackpink's comeback. Stream Lovesick Girls!!!! AND HELLO PRE-ORDER EYES WIDE OPEN NOW (if you are financially capable)
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter!!!! Tell me your expectations too hehe who knows I might put them in the chapters ahead 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this! ❤️


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAVE YOU ALL HEARD THE I CAN'T STOP ME INSTRUMENTAL???????
> 
> Anyway, let's get a glimpse of what life has been for minayeon in Seoul.

The first day of school is always the most tiring and draining one out of the entire semester with all the introductions and sharing of expectations in each class.

Lucky for Mina, the classes she took are all in the morning so that makes her afternoon vacant except for the weekends.

“Momo, don’t forget to send me the homework for today! I need to run to the shop now. My boss needs me. I’ll see you later, yeah?”, Mina says as she grabs her backpack and dashes to the school’s exit.

She doesn’t forget to let Nayeon know that she’s off to work now, just like how normal couples do. They aren’t together _together_ but they know what they are. That’s what matters to Mina. It’s that knowing that Nayeon likes her too.

**[Nayeon, 2:10 pm]**

**_Enjoy work today, babe. I’ll talk to you later._ ** 💋

As mentioned, the first day of school is always chaotic even at night. People swarm different coffee shops after class to catch up with their friends and to get to know the friends they’ll be spending the entire semester with.

The girl Mina mentioned to Nayeon is once again at the coffee shop, now with a group.

Mina tells her colleague to tend to their table but refuses, making Mina sigh and walk up to them.

“Hi, good evening. May I take your orders?”

“Hi! Can we get four caramel macchiatos? And a half dozen of your red velvet cupcakes to go?”

Mina lists the order, “Will that be all, ma’am?”

“And maybe one date? With you?”

“I’m sorry but I’m off the menu. Will that be all?”

The girl sighs and nods, and speaks up again, “Go out with me just once. I’m not that bad to be with.”, she shrugs.

“I’m currently seeing someone right now, ma’am, but thank you for the offer.”

Yeah, her night is totally normal. She finishes her shift and locks up immediately to go home and talk to Nayeon, the love of her life. No, the person in her life.

The shop is just a ten to fifteen-minute walk from her loft.

As soon as she gets home, she takes a quick shower then settles in her bed. Her totally normal night soon turns around.

She receives a call from her mom saying that her grandfather is currently confined in the hospital.

 _“Mina, your grandpa’s health is deteriorating. The doctors say that he might not make it tonight.”,_ her mom explains, sniffling on the phone.

A sudden pang in her chest paralyzes her entire body, unable to move. Her eyes begin to well, still speechless of the news broken to her.

Mina has a strong relationship with her grandparents, especially when she was young. They would always spoil her and protect her from her parents when it came down to her weekly business training.

The reason why Mina is also living a free life now is because of them.

They encouraged her to keep on searching for the thing she wants to do for the rest of her life. At first, she was confused but as she grew older, she understood what they were telling her. She soon found that thing to be ballet and now here she is, living her life and pursuing her passion.

It has been years since the last time she saw them and it breaks her heart that she couldn't be beside them until their last breaths.

_“Mina, dear? I’ll be putting the phone on your grandpa’s ear. You can tell him the things you want to say.”_

She musters up the courage to speak, afraid her voice might break, that the tears will pour and never stop. But she remembers to keep a strong mind and heart. She can’t mess this up. There’s very little time left and she has to make the most of it.

“Hi, grandpa. It’s Mina, your most favorite grandchild in the world.”, she laughs, “I know it’s been years since the last time I saw you but I have some good news. I’ll be applying as a soloist in this school year’s recital. You and grandma were supposed to watch me but I know you’ll be cheering for me in the heavens. You’ve done so much in your life, grandpa. It’s okay, you can rest now. I’ll do my very best to live my life to the fullest. I know that's what you wanted me to do.” Tears begin stinging her eyes, "You can rest now. I love you, grandpa.”

After a few minutes, Mina hears a flatline. She ends the call and cuddles a pillow, grieving the loss of one of her inspirations in life, tears running down her cheeks like a waterfall. Her eyes begin feeling heavy due to the tiredness of crying until she falls asleep.

The ringing of her phone wakes her and she can’t help but cry again, remembering the loss of her grandpa. It's like a reflex now, hearing her phone ring and then crying.

The ringing distracts her, picking it up, not sparing the caller's name a look.

“Hello?”, she answers.

Sadness can be heard in her voice.

_“Mina, are you alright? Are you crying?”_

“Nayeon?”, she asks with her breath hitching.

_“Where are you? Who are you with?”_

She stutters because of crying too much, “I-I’m at my l-loft. I just… I need a moment.”

_“Please send me your address. I’m going there.”_

Mina can’t think straight and her head is hurting. She sends her pin location to Nayeon, turns her phone off, and covers her head with her pillows.

In an apartment somewhere in Apgujeong, Nayeon changes into a sweatsuit and grabs her face mask and keys to go to Mina’s.

It’s almost midnight when she gets to Mina’s address. To protect her identity as well as the privacy of Mina’s home just in case someone gets ahold of her, she parks her car four blocks away from the building.

She wears her face mask and puts up her hood to hide her face, and quickly makes her way inside the building, skipping past the reception.

Her heart races for a lot of reasons.

One is that she’ll be seeing Mina again a few days after their Jeju trip. Even if they were apart for just a few days, she can’t help but miss everything about her.

And second, that phone call left her worried sick for the girl. A lot of thoughts run through her head like what if something happened to her while she was out? Or what if her family found out who Mina is and they “paid her a visit”? Her fear overwhelms her as she nears Mina’s doorstep. She rings the bell and is surprised that the door is opened immediately for her.

 _This is it_ , Nayeon thinks.

This is the moment she’s finally going to see Mina again. She pulls the door and steps in and sees the girl lying on the couch clutching a remote in her hand, assuming that she used it to open the door for her.

“Mina, that could be anyone at the door. Why did you open it so carelessly?”, she questions out of concern.

Mina looks up, her hair unkempt and her eyes swollen.

“N-Nayeon?”, her legs feel so weak but she stands up to look further into her guest. “Is t-that really you?”

Nayeon walks closer to her.

“Yes, it’s really me. What happened? Are you hurt?”

Mina runs to her embraces, burying her head on her shoulder, once again shedding tears.

Her legs start to break but Nayeon catches her, makes sure that she doesn’t fall on the ground. She drags her towards the couch and sits her, just there in her embrace to calm her down.

“Shh… just let it all out. I’m here. I’m right here for you.”

When Mina’s breathing returns to normal, and the tears stop from falling, she faces Nayeon.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here. How did you get in?”

“You sent me your address and opened the door for me, remember?”, Nayeon explains, giving her a soft smile. “Do you want to talk about what happened? But only when you’re ready.”

Mina doesn’t hesitate in telling Nayeon what caused her to break down. She tells her what happened and Nayeon holds her close.

“That’s okay. He’s at peace now."

They stay in that position for a while, too comfortable to break the contact.

"Do you want to hear a funny story?”

The girl leaning on her shoulder nods.

“When my family and I went to Hawaii last year, we were walking around and I approached an old couple. I thought they needed someone to take their picture because it was just them and nobody else. I approached them thinking they were also Koreans and it turned out they weren’t.”, Nayeon started to laugh uncontrollably, her shoulders going up and down, making Mina lift her head and look at her in astonishment.

“You actually walked up to an old Asian couple and assumed they’re both Koreans?!”, Nayeon nods while covering her mouth with her hand. “That's crazy. Who told you they weren’t Koreans?”

“It was actually my mom who told me but in the end, I still took their pictures. Embarrassing, right?”

“Come to think of it, it was actually not.”, Mina smiles but it soon fades away when she realizes that she hasn’t offered Nayeon anything yet. The girl’s a guest in her home and the least she could do is to show a bit of hospitality. “I totally forgot. Do you want anything? Water? Juice? Tea?”

Nayeon raises her brows at her, “What?”

“Babe, you’re my guest.”

The girl nods and opts to have a glass of water instead. Mina walks to the kitchen to get her a glass. Nayeon takes a sip and pulls Mina on her lap, hugging her tightly, resting her head on the girl’s chest.

“God, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Nayeonie.”

The days they were apart proved how much they care for each other.

They're both strangers with a growing fondness for each other.

Mina holds up Nayeon’s face and smiles, “Nayeon, really, thank you for showing up tonight. I really appreciate you going here just to make sure I’m okay.”

The girl smiles and leans for a peck.

“I was worried about you. But I’m glad I’m here too. I want to be here for you.”

It’s past midnight and Nayeon feels uneasy that she might have taken much of Mina’s time on a school night.

As much as she wants to stay with Mina, she thinks that she has to go and allow her to rest, letting her sit on the couch instead of her.

“Mina, I think I should go. It’s late and I think you need to rest.”

She stands and fixes herself but Mina’s quick to wrap her hands on her arm.

“Could you stay the night? Please, Nayeon? I don’t think I can sleep alone.”

Mina gives her a longing look, breaking her heart, and at this point, Nayeon’s willing to do anything for her.

“Okay, I’ll stay. My classes tomorrow are in the afternoon anyway so I’m good. I just need an extra toothbrush though.”, she chuckles.

The lonely look on Mina’s face is replaced with a contented one. She goes to the bathroom with Nayeon and hands her the extra toothbrush she requested for and the two of them wash up before heading to bed.

“Your place looks cool. I really like the loft style.”, Nayeon observes, laying on Mina’s bed.

“Really? Maybe that’s why Sana’s always here. She enjoys the interior so much too.”, Mina says, walking to the bed. She uses Nayeon’s arm as a pillow and makes herself comfortable beside her, placing her arm around the girl’s stomach.

 _Just like in Jeju_.

“Nayeon? Thanks again for being here.”

She kisses her neck and drifts off to sleep.

“Good night, Mina.”

* * *

The smell of bacon and fried eggs wake Nayeon up.

Mina’s not beside her anymore and it’s eight in the morning. She removes her hoodie and heads down to check what Mina’s up to.

Her stomach starts to grumble when she sees Mina wearing a cute penguin-designed apron.

What's the cause of her hunger? Mina in a cute apron or the bacon she’s cooking? Nayeon thinks that it’s probably both.

She sneaks up on the girl and hugs her from behind, completely catching her off guard.

“Ooh, this smells really good.”

“Which one? I can feel you sniffing my neck.” Mina giggles, snuggling closer to Nayeon.

“Hmm? This one. This girl right here wearing a penguin apron.”

Nayeon lets go and checks the cupboards for some plates and utensils to set up the table for breakfast.

They make themselves comfortable on the floor and turn on Netflix. Nayeon takes a bite and shrieks, “This tastes really good!”

“That’s just bacon. It’s supposed to taste good.”, Mina points out.

“No, it’s good because you cooked it.”

After eating they spend the entire morning cuddled up in bed.

Mina tells her that she’s not really active in SNS, and that her friends only told her to make one so they could tag her in photos and videos.

“You really wouldn’t see anything in my pages. It’s clean as white paper. Maybe you'll just see Ray. Plus, I don't even have those apps on my phone.”

“Then what do you do in your free time?”

Mina lies on her stomach, propping up her shoulders to face Nayeon.

“Unlike you, I have a life outside of the internet. I dance in the studio and read books. But I’m also updated on the latest games, hence, the stacks of video games downstairs with my PS5 and Switch.”

“And I have no idea why I like a dork like you.”, Nayeon says, stealing a kiss from her. “This sucks though. I can’t stalk you online. What if I want to see some pictures of you from before we met?”

“Then you can check my friends’ SNS. Sometimes, they upload some of my pictures because they’re all that whipped for me. I’m not even lying, they really are.”

Nayeon lies on top of Mina to nuzzle her face on her neck.

“I guess I can live with that.”

She starts nibbling the exposed skin of the girl's neck, letting a moan out of her but a call from her phone breaks them off.

It’s Jeongyeon and she’s looking for her in her loft. She totally forgot about school which starts in two hours. She’s got some time to spare but Mina _commands_ that she go home and get ready.

Mina walks her to the door and gives her a squeeze.

“I’ll talk to you tonight, okay? My shift ends at eight.”

* * *

Sana walks Mina to the coffee shop and sits in her usual spot. At the corner by the windows. Dahyun will be meeting her there before they go on a date.

“How’s everything back home, Mitang?”

“Everything's okay. I’m still glad I got to talk to my grandpa before that. It’s heartbreaking not to be with my family now but they call me more often the past few days to update me.”

Before going to school, Mina called her Mom and asked how they were. They told her that everything’s already taken care of, that she doesn’t need to worry about anything. The funeral has already been set and they sent her pictures of the place. They're well-off and his grandpa will sure be resting in a beautiful place here on Earth.

Mina also tells Sana that Nayeon went to her place.

She runs and clocks in just before the palm of her best friend hits her skin.

“Mina! What?! You owe me this one!”

* * *

“Nayeon, I think we should start with the report today. Maybe just the outline so we have a guide on what we’ll really be doing.”

“Yeah, I agree. You should let the others know. Where do you want to meet with them?”

“Let’s head out and eat first. I’m kind of starving and I know just the perfect place.”

“Eunha, this better not be a two-hour drive from school. I have two more classes left.”, Nayeon counters.

“Don’t worry! This is just in Apgujeong. I’ll drop a message in the group.”

It’s almost four in the afternoon when Nayeon goes to the coffee shop with Eunha. They are soon met with the rest of their groupmates to have their late lunch and project discussion. A server arrives and takes their orders.

Nayeon grabs a forkful of salad and asks, “How often do you go to this place? It’s like the servers here know you already.”

“Oh my gosh, is this _the_ coffee shop you’ve been telling us about? The one with the cute barista?”, one of their groupmates ask.

They all turn their heads to the counter to see a tall guy working behind the counter, two guys actually.

Eunha frowns, “I think she’s working at the back. Hmm…”.

“Oh, so the cute barista is a she. Tell us all about her.” Nayeon smirks and Eunha tells her groupmates how her crush for this cute barista started, completely forgetting about their project.

The girls applaud her for going to the coffee shop for half a year just to see this barista but unfortunately, she hasn’t had any successful encounters with her but they’re both aware of each other’s existence.

The group soon heads back to school and crams the outline for their project. They make sure to have it done before their last period.

Boxes upon boxes of cups, cup holders, and mugs welcome her in the stock room. Mina’s glad that the classes she had today were not tiresome. Mr. Park walks in and instructs Mina what to do with the stuff in the room. She’s also fortunate her shift for today is half-day only. All she needs to do is to clean the shelves and to sort out the items.

She sits on the backstreet of the coffee shop to eat her sandwich when her co-worker decides to join her.

“You know that girl is here again?”

“Huh?”, she asks.

“Why don’t you give it a shot with her? It’s been months, Mina. And she’s pretty cute too.”

Mina laughs, “Look, I’m already seeing someone and my eyes are only on her.”

“Okay, I’m just saying.”

Her thoughts filling up the empty space between them. One question bothers her though. Not a question, no, but a feeling. She isn’t quite sure if it’s already _that_ feeling.

“Hey, before you go inside. Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, shoot it.”

“How would you know if you’re already in love?”

“Wow, Myoui. I wasn’t expecting that from you.", he shakes his head. "Anyway, here’s the only thing you need to remember about love, at least based on my experiences. When you’re in love with someone, everything about that person just feels right. It’s like you’ve found the missing puzzle piece you’ve been looking for your entire life. When you’re with that person, your happiness shoots up instantly but of course, it’s not always rainbows and butterflies. There will be downfalls that will test how strong your love is for that person, like how far you’re willing to go. Does that answer your question?”

Mina keeps mum. Just keeps on biting her sandwich.

“Well, I guess I got my answer now. See you inside, Myoui.”

_Like a missing puzzle piece? Nayeon sure does make me happy to the most extremest level, if such an adjective even exists._

Her entire shift passed by quickly. Sometimes when you’re looking forward to something, time tends to slow down but for Mina, time seems to be on her side. She can’t wait to speak to Nayeon again.

She brisk walks on the way home and cleans herself up for bed. This is because she knows that after talking to Nayeon, she’ll be sleeping right after.

As soon as she changes into her nightclothes, she gets a ring from downstairs.

 _It must be Sana_ , she thinks.

Her best friend, at times like this, also likes to visit her to bug her, eat with her, or even just accompany her to the convenience store. She checks her home monitor and sees that it’s covered by something.

_This is definitely Sana._

The moment she opens the door, she’s surprised by Nayeon with a tub of freshly cooked fries in her hand and a DVD of Avengers.

 _DVD? Old school huh?_

“Hi, are you a fan of The Avengers? I thought we could use a movie night.”, Nayeon chuckles and is quickly pulled in for a kiss by an excited Mina.

"Why didn’t you text me? And how did you know that I’d be here at this time?”

“Babe, you told me this morning that your shift ends at eight so I’m here now.” Nayeon says in between kisses.

Mina sets up the DVD player, blankets, and pillows upstairs for their date.

“I’ve seen this already but I’m willing to watch it again just for you.”

“I’m touched, Mina.”, Nayeon sarcastically says.

“Where were you touched?” Mina asks innocently but Nayeon knows better. She knows that there’s an underlying meaning to her question. Of the times they’ve spent together, the girl has gotten this habit of hers. She's definitely learned from the best.

Nayeon leans in and whispers on her lips, “Baby, the movie hasn’t even started yet and you’re already feeling hot?”.

Mina smacks her lips and faces the TV, and makes herself comfortable beside Nayeon.

In the middle of the movie, she feels Nayeon's hand slowly moving down to her bottom. She triggers her more by jerking it up to touch Nayeon’s hand, giving her a side-eye.

Nayeon playfully pats her butt and squeezes it, distracting Mina from the movie.

“You’re being playful today.”, Mina remarks, eyes still on the TV screen.

Nayeon lightly chuckles, “Yup. I’m kind of in the mood. I’m just really happy to be here right now.”

Mina’s feeling really, really hot right now with Nayeon tracing her fingers on the lining of her bottom up to her core, slowly rubbing her bundles of nerves, causing her to release a low and very attractive moan.

Mina opens up her legs a bit more to allow Nayeon more access to playing her.

“You like this, babe?”, Nayeon asks in a deep tone. One that urges Mina to break and sit on her lap, aggressively crashing her lips onto hers. They both ignore the movie playing on the screen. Her hips begin to move on their own while their tongues fight for dominance, biting the girl’s plump cherry lip and soothing it with her tongue.

A ringing phone once again forces Nayeon to pull away from Mina’s lips to answer the phone but the girl, on the other hand, doesn’t stop. She continuously licks Nayeon’s neck and sucks the skin but not to the point of leaving a mark.

Nayeon ends the call and pulls Mina from her with a frown.

“Mina, I’m sorry but I need to go. I have a gala to attend tomorrow and I need to fit my dress.”

“So soon?”, Mina sticks out her lower lip to charm and persuade Nayeon in staying but it seems like she has already made up her mind.

“As much as I want to stay and kiss those lips, I need to go.” Nayeon says, giving Mina soft kisses on her neck up to her cheek then lips. “Walk me to the door?” Mina nods and does.

“Oh, you forgot your hoodie from this morning!”

“No, I’ll just leave it here so that if I’m not around, you can wear it and remember me.”, she winks.

Mina feels her cheeks redden with how smooth and confident Nayeon has been since the day they got back.

“Let me know when you get home okay?”.

She gives the girl a long kiss before she finally lets her go.

 _Everything feels right about her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY'RE GETTING BRAVER NOW HAHAHA
> 
> Mina is slowly realizing her feelings and Nayeon's catching up!!! 
> 
> I wonder what happens in the next chapter hmmm........ let me know what you all think of this hehe 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we all went crazy when Nayeon said that she likes Mina's short PJs HAHAHAHAHA 
> 
> Please enjoy this one! :)))

It’s that time of the year when the high-level management of the biggest companies in Seoul gather around for a night of networking, auctions, and entertainment. CEOs, Founders, and basically everyone in high society are present in this prestigious event.

If Hollywood is all about the glitz and glamour then it’s nothing compared to this gala. Glitz and glamour but make it powerful and influential.

Nayeon waltzes in the venue with her family by her side.

They are greeted by their peers. Her sister walks to her friends’ table and she, however, heads to the bar to grab a few shots to keep her sane on this maddening occasion. She spots Jihyo and Tzuyu seated on the bar stools at the end of the counter.

“Hi, lovebirds. Hello Chou, I welcomed your mother the other day at the Country Club. Why weren’t you there?”, Nayeon begins.

She orders three tequila shots for herself and her companions.

“Hi, Nayeon! I was at another business meeting.”

“A business meeting? In Jihyo’s pants?”, she laughs.

Jihyo lightly pushes her, “And what if she was?”

“Then you have all my respect, Tzuyu.”

She takes a shot and soon, more of their peers begin to crowd the bar. It seems like all collegiate socialites are bored out of their minds in this gala.

She excuses herself for the restroom. While washing her hands, she can’t help but check herself out on the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

_Maybe someone needs to see how good I look tonight._

She snaps a picture and clicks on send.

**[Nayeon, 8:21 pm]** ****

**_***picture sent***_ ** ****

**_How do I look?_ **

**[Mina, 8:30 pm]**

**_Wow_ **

**_Baby_ **

**_You_ **

**_Look_ **

**_So_**

**_FUCKING GOOD_ **

**_I can’t wait to get my hands on you_ **

**[Nayeon, 8:31 pm]**

💋

**[Mina, 8:32 pm]**

**_Stop teasing me. I'm dying over here._ **

When she gets out of the restroom, dinner is finally served.

Nayeon’s dad notices the strong smell of alcohol coming from her mouth.

“Nayeon, I expect you to be on your best behavior tonight.”, he reprimands.

“Dad, I’m not drunk and I _am_ on my best behavior. We all just had our share of fun at the bar. Right, Seoyeonie?”, she turns to her younger sister with a cute smile painted on her face.

Seoyeon pretends to vomit because of her sister acting sweet to her.

“Yes, dad. The older kids were all at the bar being noisy and drunk.”

After dinner, the networking has officially begun for the adults but for Nayeon and her peers, they all march back to the bar at the back and continue taking their shots. She’s glad they all share the same sentiment for this night and it’s driving them crazy, makes them want to go and rent the other function room just to freely have fun.

And just like the heavens heard their prayers, the hosts announce that it’s time to conclude the night with entertainment.

The lights in the venue are dimmed and the performer sets up his equipment on stage.

_Finally. Time to let loose._

The upbeat music plays and people of all ages begin to dance. Nayeon places her arms around her friends, cherishing this moment with them, and not giving a damn if they bump into each other. She sees some of her friends from school and nods at them. Jackson is also there dancing with his new group of friends. He walks up to her and they dance.

“Hey Nayeon, you better introduce me to your friends. I’ve been gone for so long, I need new ones.”, he yells over the loud music, placing an arm around her.

She holds onto him to prevent herself from falling on the floor.

“I’ll do just that Mr. Jackson Wang.”

They walk around the dance floor with her arm on Jackson’s and introduces him to her peers as her ’good friend Jackson, the guy who moved away and is now back to conquer Seoul’.

Cameras flash everywhere to document the gala and how wild everyone is on the dancefloor.

“Nayeon, you’re a bit drunk. Do you want me to drive you to your place? I’ll be dropping Tzuyu off too so you should come with.”, Jihyo suggests.

“Park Josin, I am completely fine. Let me just say goodbye to my family over there.”

She takes the wrong step and almost falls to the floor if it weren’t for Tzuyu and Jackson helping her up.

“I’m not drunk, you guys. I got this.”

They let her walk again and thankfully, she doesn’t stumble on anything in the dimly-lit room.

“Mom, Dad, I’ll be going now. Jihyo will be dropping me off at my place.” She bows and grabs her coat. She walks back to Jihyo and waves goodbye to her peers.

Tzuyu assists Nayeon in the car and helps her wear her seatbelt.

Jihyo sighs, looking at a drowsy Nayeon on the rearview mirror.

“Thanks for helping me out. She’s a lot to handle when she’s like this. I think something's up with her.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m glad she has a good friend like you. You take care of her well.”

“I depend on her and Jeongyeon a lot and yes, you are right. She takes care of me really well. Now drive, Hyo.”, Nayeon laughs.

Jihyo clicks her tongue, “Aish—“

Tzuyu laughs and holds her hand to distract her.

On the way back to her flat, Nayeon sees a street she visits a lot and changes her mind at the last minute.

“Jihyo! Turn here!”

“What?! But this isn’t the way to your place.”

“I know! I’m going somewhere else. Hurry!”

Jihyo follows Nayeon’s directions and they end up on a street somewhere in Gangnam-gu.

“Okay, this is my stop. Thank you for the ride, Jihyo.” A drunk Nayeon hops off and knocks on the passenger seat’s window. “Don’t tell anyone you dropped me off here.”

“Wait, Nayeon! Who are you visiting here?! Is it the Jeju girl?”

Her friend doesn’t give her an answer but only a wink and that is more than enough for her to understand.

Before she drives away, she makes sure to stick by to see which building her friend enters for her safety and sees that it’s a luxurious apartment building.

“Wow, okay, this Jeju girl is rich.”

Tzuyu hums, “Let her live. Maybe this girl is making her happy.”, she winks.

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

* * *

Mina’s busy playing her Switch when the bell distracts her from her game, causing her to lose the race.

“Ah fuck, I was close. Ugh, this better be important.”

She checks her home monitor and sees Nayeon in a coat.

“Nayeon?”

She rushes to the door and opens it.

Nayeon jumps to hug her tightly.

“Hi, I missed you.”

“You smell like… Did you drink?”

The girl hums in approval.

Mina drags her to the kitchen to get her a glass of cold water.

“You should drink some water first. Anyway, what are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

“Well, you said that you can’t wait to get your hands on me.”

She unbuttons her coat to expose her body in her flawless and elegant dress.

Mina’s jaw drops and she gulps, walking closer to her. She places her hands around the girl’s waist to feel her warmth through her tight dress.

_She is so fucking sexy._

Mina’s utterly at a loss for words. Nayeon is too much for her to handle— she feels that she’s about to combust when the girl pulls her in and starts placing open-mouthed kisses along her neck.

They move to the couch and Nayeon sits on her lap, attacking Mina’s lips with hers. She winces at how hard Mina has bitten her lower lip and she pushes her tongue in the girl’s mouth in return, fighting for domination.

Mina’s wandering fingers pull up Nayeon’s dress and trail towards the hem of her underwear, urging the girl to stand and tug her upstairs. She suddenly pushes the drunk girl up the table.

“Where’s the zipper of your dress? I want you naked now.”, Mina pants.

“Rip it. I’ll just buy a new one.”

Mina rips one side of Nayeon’s dress to reveal her creamy white legs. She kneels in-between her legs and peppers her inner thighs with wet kisses as she removes her heels, throwing them around.

The sight of Nayeon with her eyes closed and breathing heavily is such a sight to see, truly honored that it’s her experiencing this and nobody else. She pulls down her underwear and continues kissing her thighs, moving in deeper until her lips touch her nub. Nayeon bucks her hips up, wanting more friction, and lets out a low ‘fuck me now’.

Her tongue begins to do the work and Nayeon’s cries grow louder.

Mina places a leg over her shoulder to push her over the edge and with the last flick, she comes undone.

Their eyes meet and they give each other soft smiles. Mina stands and holds Nayeon close to kiss her, to get a taste of herself.

She helps the girl down the table and discards the rest of her clothing to lay on the bed naked, and totally worn off with Mina beside her making sure she feels warm under the duvet in her embrace.

The next day, Nayeon wakes up with a mild headache and to the sound of the keyboard typing. She sees an angelic-looking Mina focused on her laptop, probably doing some schoolwork. She sees that a tray of breakfast is also served beside her on the table, assuming it’s for her.

This simple act of Mina warms her heart instantly and it’s definitely the most perfect way to wake up to in the morning. It feels so domestic being with her.

“Good morning, you seem busy?”, she asks in a husky voice.

Mina faces her with a blooming smile. She closes her laptop and slides into the bed.

“Good morning, you look glowing.”, giving her a soft morning kiss.

“Someone did a good job of making me feel well last night.”, Nayeon winks and kisses Mina back.

“I prepared you some clothes, a towel, and an extra toothbrush downstairs. Go and take a shower so we can eat breakfast.”, Mina says.

Nayeon walks to the stairs with the duvet covering her body but Mina stops her.

“Where are you going with that?”  
  
“Baby, I’m naked. Do you want me to walk around your loft like this?”

“I’ve seen your beautiful body already. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”, Mina chuckles. She’s only joking but since Nayeon is in a good and playful mood, she lets down the duvet and walks down the stairs confidently, giving Mina a knowing look.

Mina’s too shocked to even say anything. She snaps out of herself and follows a naked Nayeon through the glass of her loft upstairs and lies in bed.

_God, she’s insane. She’s gonna be the death of me._

Nayeon walks upstairs after a while and sees that Mina has set up the breakfast by the small couch and the TV is playing a random drama.

“Wow, this looks straight out of a Pinterest board. I am once again impressed by you, babe.”

They do their routine: eat then cuddle. And maybe another make-out session after.

“Mina, do you not have school today?”, Nayeon pulls away to stare at the swollen lips in front of her.

“Not today. My professor for today’s class is out. Just need to submit a paper tonight. What about you?”

“I don’t have any for today. I guess I’ll be staying here the entire day. I know you don't mind.”

“You got that right, babe.”

Mina closes the gap between them.

Nayeon once again pulls away. This time with a serious question in hand.

“Wait, one more thing. How loud was I last night? I mean, I was drunk and I tend to be _really_ loud when I'm in that state.”

Mina relaxes and chuckles, “I’m actually still waiting for the concierge to call and inform me of noise complaints. You were really _that_ loud and I had to put my fingers in your mouth to keep you down."

“That's dirty. Who would've thought you like it dirty like that.”

“Only when we’re alone and being intimate.”, Mina frowns and Nayeon leans in to make the frown on her face disappear.

* * *

As Nayeon said earlier, ‘it feels being domestic’ with Mina.

They find themselves playing video games as per Mina’s suggestion.

Nayeon’s having a hard time getting to know the controls of the game even if Mina’s right beside her literally screaming what to press.

“Babe! You just need to press the X button and the R1 and R2 buttons simultaneously!”

“ _Babe_! Stop fucking yelling. You are seriously pissing me off with your competitiveness!”

Mina immediately drops her controller and sits on Nayeon’s lap. The girl is indeed angry and all that’s missing is smoke coming out of her nose. She cups the angry girl’s face and pouts, hoping her cute face erases the bitter look.

“You really think that cute pout of yours will make me feel better?”

Mina nods, sticking out her lower lip even more.

“I’m really sorry for yelling. That’s just gamer me in my natural habitat. Do you want to see something pretty?”

“You're already looking at it.", Nayeon interjects. 

Mina smiles, "I know. Come on. Wear some slippers and follow me.”

When they get out of the elevator, they see the beautiful interior of the building’s rooftop. It’s like a mini jungle with all the big plants and vines hanging everywhere. Mina brings her to the edge to admire the sunset.

It’s a beautiful orange hue that reminds her of Jeju where they first met. Her heart flutters a bit at the memory.

Mina stands behind her and wraps her arms around her middle, kissing her shoulder.

“This is where I go to relax and find myself when I feel like I’m starting to get lost.", she chuckles, "I hope you’re no longer mad at me.”

Nayeon looks over her shoulder to look Mina in the eyes. The sincerity in them has a huge impact on what she’s feeling. Sort of like, you found the one and you get lost _with_ the one. That’s what she is feeling with her.

“By now, you should know that I can’t ever resist you.” She turns and encircles her arms around Mina’s neck. “Yeah, I got agitated a while ago because you were screaming but I can never get mad at you. Like a hundred percent mad. At least, not yet.”, she softly smiles.

Then it slips out of Mina's mouth just like that.

“I love you.”

Nayeon’s eyes widen. She freezes into place, searching for something in Mina’s eyes. The lie? The joke? The truth? But all she found were soft brown orbs staring at her as if she’s the best thing the girl has ever laid her eyes on.

Well, in Mina’s mind, she is. But for Nayeon, it’s like she finally found someone who she’s honestly willing to risk it all for.

She gives off a smile, showing her front teeth and gives Mina a soft kiss, then proceeds to kiss her small nose, and right back again to her lips.

Everything feels right with the beautiful sunset right in front of them, and their hearts matching each other’s beats. It feels just right. She murmurs something on Mina’s lips with her eyes closed. One that changes the course of their future. One that signifies that after this day, everything will be different.

“I love you too.”

Mina pulls away. What she just heard may have pierced right through her eardrums and all she’s hearing now is a ringing sound.

It's all too surreal.

_Did I hear it right? She said that she loves me too?_

“Y-you love m-me too?”

Nayeon nods and pulls her tightly.

“I love you, Mina.”

* * *

“My friend is already down the street. I better get going.”, Nayeon says, hopping off of Mina’s lap. She grabs her heels and torn dress before walking to the door. “Before I forget,” she begins while twirling the string of Mina’s hoodie around her finger, pulling her closer until their bodies are against the door, “I just want to ask. When can I see you again?”

Mina nuzzles her face on her neck, pressing kisses on the skin. “I’ll send you my school and work schedule.”

“That would be great. I’ll see you then.”

“See you soon, love.” Mina winks.

Nayeon blows her a kiss, “I love you.”

They both smile like crazy.

Mina smiles until her cheeks hurt and she muffles her screams with her pillow. It’s like she’s feeling love again for the first time. 

Nayeon smiles while she hops inside Jihyo’s car.

“You look like you had a good time last night.”

She sighs, “Jihyo, I’m in love.”

* * *

The next few weeks have been rewarding for both Mina and Nayeon. They've been inseparable since then with Nayeon going to Mina’s loft after the girl's shift at the coffee shop and sometimes she goes there for breakfast before going to school.

Life has been like that for them. They hardly noticed that all of the times they spent together were all done in secrecy. It became natural for them to just date at home, a.k.a. Mina’s loft, and dating outside of it is something that they never really looked for. They’re too lost in each other to think about that. Both of them have not introduced each other to any of their friends too ever since they got back. That is until one day.

It was a regular morning for them.

Nayeon comes over early, Mina lets her in, and they make breakfast. Cute and sweet. Right after that, they’d make out on the couch which later turns into a heated one to the point where Mina discards Nayeon of her clothes, leaving her topless.

The door suddenly opens and they hear a tiny scream.

“Ah! Sorry!”

Mina looks over Nayeon’s shoulder and sees Chaeyoung run for the bathroom.

Luckily, Nayeon’s back was facing the door. She stands and quickly picks up Nayeon’s clothes hanging on the stair’s railing. She knocks on the bathroom door, asking for Chaeyoung to come out.

“Are you guys no longer naked?”, Chaeyoung shyly asks.

“Yes, we’re clothed now, Chaeng. There’s food if you haven’t eaten yet.” She walks back to Nayeon and apologizes for exposing her bare back to her friend.

Chaeyoung finally walks out, looking spooked. “Of all days, why do I have to witness that today?”

“I guess I should’ve changed my code when I got back to prevent _this_ from happening.”

Mina’s that kind of friend. Sometimes when she’s asleep or even outside, her friends can freely come in and use her loft to kill time.

Strictly to kill time, no funny business.

Her place has gaming consoles, a killer view, and her bed upstairs is super comfortable. Aside from that, she keeps a lot of snacks in her pantry.

That’s why her friends get to go there because she’s given her door code to them.

“I came here to take a nap and maybe play some games before my next class but this is what I encounter.”

Chaeyoung pulls a chair from the kitchen and sits across them.

“Anyway, it’s nice meeting you again, Na…yeon?”

Nayeon chuckles and nods, “It’s nice to meet you again. You’re Momo’s girlfriend right?”

“Yup, I am. So… are you guys together now?”

The couple turns to face each other, waiting for someone to speak up.

Mina utters, “Yeah, we’re dating.”

Chaeyoung stares at the two girls and reads their expressions, they seemed to be hesitant in answering her question.

“Okay, that’s cool. I’m glad you guys are happy.” She stands and shakes Nayeon’s hand. “It was nice to finally meet you as someone who Mina is dating. Also, I better get going. I’ll just go to a coffee shop and read instead.”

The door closes and Nayeon laughs, “That was weird. That was also probably the weirdest scenario in meeting someone. A good first for me.”

“God, I’m really sorry about that. I never expected Chaeng to be here this early. I could’ve told her to go to Sana’s ins—“

Nayeon interrupts her with a kiss, “Baby, it’s okay. I have a good one hour left before my first class. Now where were we?”, she asks with fire in her eyes, pulling Mina onto her as she lies back down on the couch, removing again her clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we're down to just a few chapters before I end this fic. 
> 
> Thank you all again for reading this huhuhuhu and please let me know what you think will happen next!!!
> 
> PS I think the title doesn't fit the story.... what do you think should I change it to?


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY MINAYEON DAY!!!!!!!!!

After her Ballet Repertory class, Mina changes into some fresh clothes and heads to the courtyard to meet her friends. It’s a Friday and they, for sure, have plans to party tonight.

“Great! Mina’s here. Let’s talk about tonight. Jennie’s hosting a party in a bar somewhere in Hongdae. Are you girls down?”, Sana asks.

Momo nods, “It’s also been a while since we last partied together. This girl right here”, she places an around Mina’s shoulder, “is a little bit busy with her girl.”

“That moment scarred me.” Chaeyoung shakes her head while browsing through her phone.

Mina laughs at her friends and just nods along with them.

They’re technically not wrong. She’s been too busy since she got back from her vacation. Her free time is _always_ spent on Nayeon only. They couldn’t even get to visit her loft anymore after what happened with Chaeyoung.

Sana whines, “Mina, it’s been so long. Come on and go with us to this party. You can invite Nayeon too.”

Everyone except Chaeyoung tries to persuade her, telling her the advantages if she’s to come with them.

While everyone's convincing her, Chaeyoung continues scrolling through Twitter until some tweets catch her eyes. She clicks on it and reads further. What she reads makes her gasp and turns to Mina with fear in her eyes.

_This couldn’t be it._

“Uhm, Mina? What’s Nayeon’s last name?”

Momo pats her girlfriend’s leg, “Now, babe, that seems so sudden. What’s up?”

“Yeah, Chaeng. But hmm… Now that I think about it, no. I don’t know her last name.”

Mina’s weirded out by her friend’s sudden question but what weirds her out, even more, is that she doesn’t really know who Nayeon is. She may know the girl’s personality but not her basic personal information. Heck, Nayeon’s even slept in her place multiple times but she hasn’t even seen hers. She tries her best to set the eerie feeling aside and jokes instead.

“Why Chaeng? What did you see online? Is she like Hannah Montana, living double lives?”

Chaeyoung hesitates in answering, worried that Mina might get hurt.

“Maybe?” She hands her phone to Mina to show the article. "You need to see this."

Tension shoots up through Mina’s body as she begins scrolling, reading, “Im Nayeon and Jackson Wang: Socialites Match Made in Heaven. Both teams confirm that the two have been together before summer started and that they continue to meet each other with good… feelings.”

The world stops for Mina. Her heart sinks, but she refuses to believe what she’s seeing. She continues scrolling until she sees the pictures.

_There are lots of them. What the fuck?_

She takes out her phone and opens Nayeon’s messages to see if the dates on the pictures matched any of hers.

It turns out, they do.

In the pictures, she sees Jackson with his arm around Nayeon and they seem happy.

It's now infuriating her.

The pain inside turns into anger that she just wants to confront Nayeon as soon as possible to get the answers out of her.

When Mina's angry, she doesn't yell or punch anything to release what she's feeling but instead, she cries it out. She cries all of the frustration building inside.

Her voice breaks a little as her eyes begin to sting.

“What the fuck is this? She… she goes to my place after meeting with her boyfriend?”

She almost drops Chaeyoung’s phone at the same time, her body begins to break.

It’s Sana’s instinct to be by Mina’s side when she sees her struggle. She wraps Mina up in her arms and whispers, “Hey, let’s take a deep breath.”

“T-this can’t be real. Sana, this can’t be happening.” 

Tears run down her face. She clenches her chest, feeling her heart crumble into pieces the more she thinks about Nayeon and her boyfriend, and all the times they spent together. She thinks that the universe must really hate her right now.

Just when she's happy and contented with her life, a storm like this decides to show up.

Her friends comfort her in whatever way they can until she stops crying and they help her come up with a solution. This is their first time seeing Mina this hurt and it saddens them that someone important to them is being played like this.

“I think you should just ditch her, Mina. This girl is and will cause you more pain if you keep this up. Drop. Her.”, Sana suggests.

It’s totally understandable that Sana is angry. No one dared hurt Mina back when they were in Japan because of her. Mina might not know it but her best friend has been protecting her ever since.

“Let her feel the pain and confusion you’re feeling now.”

Chaeyoung and Dahyun argue, “No, you're seeing her tonight and we’re not letting you go with us. The rational thing to do here is to ask her, Mina. Ask her everything that’s going on in your head. In the end, if you get her or not, you have the answers. It’s also best to listen to her first before jumping to conclusions.”

Momo chimes in, “I agree with them, Mitang. She may have her reasons why she did that. Think about this first before deciding on anything.”

She’s a mess. Her mind’s a mess. Everything’s a mess. She stands and says ‘goodbye’ to her friends, promising to think thoroughly before doing anything else.

The walk back to her loft was long and dark.

She’s angry, sad, and confused all at the same time.

_Nayeon wouldn’t do this. She’s better than this._

_She told me she loves me._

_Momo’s right. I’m sure she has her reasons. But what if she’s only using me?_

She feels like she’s going mad with how her thoughts are all over the place. She opens the pantry door and looks at her collection of alcohol, debating whether or not she should drink before meeting Nayeon. Ends up deciding not to.

**[Mina, 8:03 pm]**

**_Head over to my place after your class. We need to talk._ **

Hours passed before she hears Nayeon knock on her door.

“Squishy baby is home! Oh?” She stops on track when she sees Mina’s puffy eyes and the balled-up tissues on the table. “Mina, what’s wrong?”

“Nayeon, who is Jackson Wang?”

“Oh, Jackson? He’s my childhood friend who moved to Hong Kong but he’s now back in Seoul.”, Nayeon answers casually, thinking that the question is not related to why she’s crying. “Why do you ask?”

Mina raises her voice, “Are you sure he’s just your friend and not your _boyfriend_? The media outlets say otherwise.” She shoves her phone into her hand.

Nayeon’s confused about what Mina’s telling her. Especially her knowledge of Jackson unless the PR has already been released and she is once again bypassed by her parents. She takes the phone from her and reads what's shown on the screen.

Nayeon's eyes widen and whispers, “What the hell… it’s already published?”

Mina can't believe what she's hearing. Nayeon didn't even deny it, infuriating her even more.

“What?! So you knew all along and you still used me?”, she yells and pushes Nayeon away from her.

“I didn’t use you, Mina!”

“Then what do you call having sex with me when you already have a boyfriend?! You're a cheater, Nayeon. The entire time I was chasing after you, you didn't even bother stopping me. You're selfish!”

“What are you saying, Mina?”, Nayeon sits by the kitchen, covering her face. She stays far from Mina as much as possible, seeing how red she is. Any minute, she just might explode again.

Mina holds her hair because of anger, pacing the room. She grunts, “Was it thrilling for you?! Having to hide me while you’re out with him?! And he, on the other hand, has no clue that I even exist. Or maybe you’re just using me to, I don’t know, experiment? Am I just an object to you?”

Nayeon stands to defend herself, “No! That’s not true. What we have is real! Everything about us is!”

At this point, Mina starts crying again. “Then tell me everything! Why are they saying these stuff?”, she begs. No matter how much it pains her to see Nayeon, she stares her right in the eyes until she answers.

Silence.

Mina waits.

They stare at each other in silence until Nayeon breaks eye contact and bows her head. She doesn’t speak, too afraid she might jeopardize the PR if she tells Mina everything. It’s not that she doesn’t trust her. She doesn’t trust herself.

“Mina, please trust me. Everything between us is real. Please believe me. There's a reason why _this_ is happening.”

“How can I, Nayeon, when you can’t even answer my question?”, she deeply sighs, “I think... you should go now, Nayeon. We're done here.”

“No, no, no we are not. Please believe me, Mina.” Nayeon pleads.

Mina lightly pushes her to the door. “Please leave.”

"Mina, no. Please. I love you."

"Nayeon, if you do then why this?", Mina says weakly.

Nayeon surrenders and goes. She walks back to her car with her hand on her chest.

As soon as she’s inside, she finally lets her tears run down her cheeks.

In her head, it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

If she had just been honest from the start, this wouldn’t have happened to them. She has no other person to blame but herself. She knew it was a selfish move but she still pushed through.

* * *

Day after day, it gets harder for Mina to get up and go about her life. 

Days soon turned into weeks. She wonders when her rollercoaster ride of emotions would end.

Work, school, and her friends have been helping her distract herself from the thoughts that are making her sad. 

Today’s one of those days where Sana walks Mina to the coffee shop for work.

That time spent between them allows Mina to be extra vulnerable to her when she feels like it, reminding her that she’s never really alone in this foreign country she now calls home and that she’ll always have Sana to rely on.

“How are you feeling today?”, Sana begins as they walk in an alleyway.

Mina kicks on a pebble and exhales heavily, “So-so. No, I mean, I kind of feel okay now, I guess?”

“Better days will come soon, Mina. I’m always here, you know.”

“I know, Satang." They stop in front of the coffee shop. "Well, I should head in. Tell your mom I said hi, okay?”

She enters and greets her colleagues and boss before going into the changing room. Her shift finally starts and the first table she’s serving is the usual— the girl who’s been constantly asking her out.

“Hi there. What can I get you today?”

The girl beams at her, “Hi Mina, I’ll be getting a prosciutto pizza, a greek salad, a plate of lemon chicken, and five glasses of lemonade.”

“Wow, all of these for one girl. Your groupmates are coming in today?”

“Yeah, they just walked around while I stay and order.”

Mina smiles, “Okay, your order will take about twenty to thirty minutes. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Oh yeah, I still need that number of yours.”, she winks.

She doesn't know what to react so Mina just bows and leaves.

After a short while, she serves their orders one by one on the table. The girl is now accompanied by her friends. Another one joins in and her ears perk at the sound of the voice.

_That can't be._

“Hey, Eunha. Sorry, I’m late. The traffic today has gotten worse than yesterday.”

“Nayeon, it’s okay. I know you and Jackson met up before going here so it's really fine for us,", the girl, Eunha, laughs

Mina smacks her lips together and breathes out to calm herself.

Fate has decided to play with her today.

“Here’s your greek salad, ladies.”

She quickly turns her back to avoid meeting Nayeon eye to eye but to her dismay, one of the girls calls her attention, asking for another set of utensils. She can clearly hear Nayeon speaking like everything’s fine with her while here she is suffering, feeling suffocated.

“Here are the utensils you asked for.”

“Thanks Mina!”, Eunha says.

"Mina?"

That’s when time slowed down again for her. Hearing her name leave Nayeon’s lips brings back those precious memories of them in Jeju and at her loft. Her soft voice is still her favorite sound, mesmerizing her. But the sound turns from sweet to bitter in a matter of seconds.

Eunha cuts in, turning time back to normal, “Oh! You two know each other?”

Their eyes finally meet after weeks of avoidance.

_She looks like she hasn’t slept for days now. I wonder if she’s doing well._

When she sees Nayeon about to answer, she speaks first. “No.”

Nayeon stutters, “I-I must have gotten the wrong person. I'm sorry.”

Hurt can be painted in her eyes. She can clearly see them water up.

Mina turns around and heads to the kitchen, finally releasing the breath she’s been holding as well as her tears. Her chest begins to ache and all she wants is to get out of the coffee shop and look for a place where she can finally breathe. She grabs her phone in her pocket and calls Sana back to the coffee shop.

Mr. Park checks up on her to see how she's doing. He's surprised to see Mina have a hard time breathing and suggests that she go home and rest.

Minutes later, Sana runs through the back door and holds Mina, just as she’s starting to feel lightheaded and nauseous.

"Breathe with me, Mitang. You’re gonna be okay. I'll bring you home.", she says rubbing Mina's back. "Dahyunie’s parked in front. Let’s go?”

They walk out of the kitchen with Sana’s hand around Mina’s waist to help her walk properly.

It’s a busy day at the coffee shop and people are minding their own businesses.

Nayeon whips her head to the kitchen and sees Mina with her head down and Sana holding her.

_Is Mina okay?_

She and Sana make eye contact and she swears that Sana looks like she wants her head in a silver platter. She wants to stand and chase after them to make sure the girl she loves is okay but they quickly hop in a car and drive off.

She can’t help but think that she’s the reason why Mina left.

* * *

It goes on for another week.

Every after school and meetings, Nayeon parks her car down the street from the coffee shop and waits for Mina to finish her shift.

Here’s how it always goes:

  1. She waits and waits and waits
  2. She sees Mina leave
  3. Her hand is ready to open the car door and run after her
  4. Fear overtakes her
  5. She sulks for being a coward
  6. She goes home
  7. She cries herself to sleep
  8. Repeat



It’s been a never-ending cycle for her. That’s why today after her night class, she heads to a nearby bar to have just one shot of tequila to boost her confidence then she drives off to the coffee shop and makes sure to park a few blocks down. She heads out and shakes her body, even jumps a little.

_I can’t fuck this up. Not now._

She intends to tell Mina everything she needs to know from the beginning, hoping the girl will forgive and take her back.

Standing by a nearby lamppost, she waits with the cold autumn wind surrounding her.

Mina finally comes out of the shop and locks up. She comes into light and calls her.

The girl is surprised to see her and turns the other way to avoid running into her.

Nayeon runs, “Mina, please let me explain!”.

It was a long street and she’s far from giving up.

“Nayeon, just leave me alone!”, Mina raises her voice, quickly walking away.

“No, please just let me explain. Please, Mina.” Nayeon’s legs are starting to give up and her eyes begin to well up. Her emotions are all over the place and the exasperation she’s feeling inside heightens.

“I don’t want to see you.”

Tears start falling and she falls to the ground. Hearing Mina say those words is too painful. She wants to end this suffering but she can't give up without even trying.

The tightening pain in her chest is back. In between sobs, she tries her best to be audible. “Mina, please give me a chance to explain everything.”

Whatever happens, Mina will always have a soft spot for her. She loves her after all, even if they're in the middle of this big and confusing mess.

She turns around and sees Nayeon on the ground, crying her eyes out and it breaks her seeing her like that.

Her friends know that she doesn’t let her emotions influence her decisions.

Admittedly, the past few weeks had been difficult. She acts through everything based on her emotions. She lets it happen, just those times because of the pain.

She walks slowly to Nayeon and lays out her arm to help her up.

“Okay.”

Nayeon looks up, wiping away the tears with the sleeve of her hoodie. She takes Mina’s hand to stand.

“Can I take you somewhere to talk? I just don’t want the paparazzi to take pictures of us.”

Mina wants to retort something like ‘Why? Is it because you’re too ashamed for everyone to see us together? That you're cheating on your boyfriend?’ but she doesn’t. Instead, she calms herself and prepares her heart and mind for whatever explanation the girl who's breaking her heart has.

Nayeon drives up the hills of Bukhansan where she and Mina could talk in private. It’s where she and Jihyo usually escape to when they’re feeling too suffocated by their responsibilities. She hopes this is also where she and Mina could mend what was broken by her.

“We’re here. Do you want to sit on the benches?”

Mina hums and Nayeon grabs a coat hanging in the backseat to lend to her. It’s almost midnight and the wind grows colder as times passes.

“I can wear it on my own, thanks.”

Nayeon sits across her and deeply sighs.

_It’s time._

“Mina, please promise you’ll listen to me first? Because everything I say maybe a lot to take in but just keep in mind that what I feel for you is real. Nothing changed for me. You're still the one I love.”

She nods and Nayeon begins.

“So… I’m Im Nayeon, one of the successors of the Im Enterprises. I’m also a socialite representing my family in important events. If people want to make a name for themselves, they cling to me. Anyway, before I met you last summer. My parents originally wanted me to have an entourage in Jeju but I begged them not to. I promised them that I would strictly keep a low profile there which I did. Then you came along. My plan was to just have fun with you and forget about you once we part ways but it turned out to be the exact opposite.”

Mina looks from afar and rubs her hands together to keep them warm. She stands to walk around an area of the park and Nayeon follows.

“Days passed by and I was starting to like your presence around me. Remember those meetings I had with my family? Well, those were about company matters and maybe some personal ones. I actually told them about you. Like how I would like for them to meet you someday. Of course, they didn’t seem too enthusiastic about me introducing a total stranger to the family.”, she sighs. “Then, there came this problem in the company which needed some PR stunts. They wanted me and my younger sister to make some news, any news, just to get the attention of the press on us and away from them. While we were in Jeju, my younger sister’s PR stunt began. It was talked about for a few weeks because her dance group participated in a few recitals and some contests. I guess she did a good performance that the press couldn't stop talking about her. And then there’s mine.”

They stop and lean on a tree. Mina crushes the fallen leaves with her foot while listening.

“My parents gave me the freedom to choose what my PR was gonna be and I have the perfect plan in mind. It was a win-win situation, to be honest. A win for me and them. The news was supposed to be me telling the entire country that I’m dating you. They said they’ll think about it but the moment I got back, I met with them and told me that they like the idea of a dating news because of its longevity but what they don’t like was it’s with you.”

Mina scoffs and kicks the leaves in front of her.

Nayeon continues, “Then I met with the company board including Jackson. He just signed under an entertainment agency and his dad who is also a part of the board wants a PR for him so they thought that pairing him and I up was a win. It could also allow our company to tap into another industry. Jackson and I were extremely against it. First, his dad lied about the board meeting. He said it was just a gathering with his childhood friends but I was his only friend there. He and I are really just good friends, nothing more. Second, they want the dating news to last for about six months but I told them I’ll do it for a month. They begged for it to last a bit more to buy them some time to investigate so I agreed. I told them I’ll do it for two months only or I won’t do it ever.”

“Wow, did you even consider how I’d feel?”, Mina murmurs.

“I’m getting there. They told me they’ll give me a date on when they’ll publish it. I took their word because that would also give me time to explain everything to you even if I have no idea how but they just announced it without even notifying me nor Jackson. The pictures published in the article were either too cropped or were just maliciously taken. The ones you saw where his arm was around me, it was when we were comforting each other because we’re being manipulated by our parents. I was comforting him because he got his freedom when he left the country and now it’s stripped away because of his dad. The media says that he and I started dating before summer which is a total lie. We never started dating. I never dated him. Just you. There's only you for me, Mina.”

Nayeon stops and holds Mina’s hands, “In a few weeks, we’ll be releasing another statement announcing our break-up. The only regret I have is not telling you sooner. I was selfish and only cared about how happy you were making me, only to set aside the issues to come and I ended up hurting the both of us. I’m truly sorry, Mina. I hope you forgive me.”

Mina closes her eyes and lets out a breath. “This is a lot to take in, Nayeon. I need some time to think.”

“No matter how long, I will wait.”

Time is an important element of life. It helps people nurture and heal from the pains of the past. It helps you move forward.

They look into each other’s eyes under the moonlight. One is hopeful while the other is thinking.

One thing is for sure, this night made things clear for the two of them.

As to getting back together, that remains a big question mark to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. It was bound to happen HAHAHAHA
> 
> But we got that Minayeon (+ Sana) selca thanks to dispatch hehe
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you so much for reading!!!
> 
> PS I created a Ko-fi account haha idk what you do with it but a friend suggested it. By the way, I'm working on another fic! Still thinking what ship I'll be using but I'm weighing it between miinayeon and michaeng hahahaha
> 
> Here it is: https://ko-fi.com/misamo_pink (it's still empty)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late but YES MINAYEON SELCA!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I know all of us lost our shit when Nayeon posted that photo and DAMN THE MINASTAGRAM THAT DAY HUHUHUHUH I LOVE THAT MINA IS FEELING HERSELF THIS ERA 
> 
> AND YES MINA'S SHOULDER?!?!? JIHYO DID US ALL A FAVOR 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Nayeon gives Mina her much-needed time to think. But since Mina is already fully aware of what’s happening in Nayeon’s life, she gives her another chance to win her back.

What she and Nayeon have is something she can’t easily throw away. Her fondness for the girl is not like a piece of crumpled paper she can just dump in the trash.

She would pick her up at the coffee shop after her shift using different cars to confuse people, if ever there are, that has been following her. She would drive her to different parts of Seoul to just talk and get to know each other even more. She can now freely talk about the burdens of her responsibilities as an Im and Mina would comfort and give her advice.

In all honesty, Mina is glad that she and Nayeon took that break.

Maybe the two of them were meant to get hurt for them to realize a lot of things.

Nayeon realized that she was selfish for putting her happiness first and not thinking of how her actions will affect her and the people around her. Mina realized that people deserve second chances however painful things have gotten for her, everyone deserves another chance.

Everything is starting to slowly go back to how things were.

The next week though, Mina’s become unreachable for anyone in that matter. They know she’s a very hardworking person. Aside from school and her work at the coffee shop, what else could she possibly be busy with?

It all started when she got back from her vacation.

**Mina locked up the coffee shop when Nayeon called her. It was a quick call where Nayeon just teased her.**

**“I’m walking back to my place now. I just closed the shop. What are you doing now?”**

**Nayeon’s answer surprised her. The girl moaned through the phone and wanted a _massage_ then she dropped the call just like that. **

**It was almost midnight when she entered a building. The security greeted her and she asked him, “Is he already in the room?”.**

**The guard nodded.**

**She ran to the elevator then to the room where her guest was waiting.**

**“Hi! Thank you so much for waiting. How was your flight?”**

**The man in a suit bowed and watched Mina sit behind a huge desk.**

**“My flight was alright, Ms. Myoui. Here are some documents from your brother. According to him, these are all the basics, all the things you need to know. Thank you again for helping out in the business even if it’s just for a short time. We greatly appreciate it.”**

**“Mr. Matsui, don’t thank me. After everything that’s happened, this is something I want to gift my parents with. I know they’ll be happy with the amount of help I’m putting in. Anyway, I’ve already prepared a list of companies that we can potentially partner with. Once we release the news that we’re expanding to Seoul, then I’m sure a lot more will come through.”**

**“I agree. I wish all the best for this expansion.”**

**For weeks, Mina had been meeting tirelessly with CEOs and founders for their business expansion in South Korea and everything was going great. She was able to close some deals on her own which made her family back in Japan extremely proud.**

It’s a complete mystery to her as well as to how she managed everything with ease. School, work, Nayeon, and this.

In the coming weeks, meetings have been put on hold since that confrontation with Nayeon happened.

Her mind wasn’t in the right state. She had also dodged her brother’s calls because she would spend her nights sulking in her bed, listening to sad songs while her friends would cook, and play her gaming consoles.

It may seem weird for some but that's the type of comfort Mina wants. Even if they don’t stay in bed with her upstairs, they make sure their presence is known so that she won’t think that she’s alone.

After a few weeks of loneliness, Mina was slowly getting herself back in the zone. She kept herself distracted by meeting with more potential clients and closing deals again.

She also made up for the times she avoided her brother’s phone calls and even had a huge plate of shrimp tempura and fresh vegetable rolls delivered to his flat.

The universe was slowly siding with her until in the very place she wasn’t expecting Nayeon to be in— the coffee shop.

It already sucked for her that this girl, who is apparently friends with Nayeon, was constantly bugging her about going out. It sucked even more that she sees the girl who broke her heart right in front of her.

The next thing she did was uncalled for but she was in a state of panic.

Does she deny Nayeon or does she tell her friends who she is to her?

She spared both Nayeon and her the embarrassment and said that she didn’t know her. She felt bad for lying. She clearly saw how Nayeon's expression fell when she said that she didn't know her.

After doing so, she started to feel anxious.

Was it the sight of Nayeon triggering her emotions?

She grabbed her phone and dialed her best friend's number.

“Sana, pick me up now. I don't feel so good.”

Luckily, Sana was with Dahyun in her car when she called and in just a few minutes, her best friend went in at the back door and saw her sitting on the floor, breathing heavily.

“Mitang, what happened?”

“I don’t know. I just feel sick. Please take me home.”

“Just keep on breathing with me, Mitang. You’re gonna be okay. Dahyunie’s parked right in front. Let’s go?”

She pulls Sana's arm, holding back her tears.

“Wait, Nayeon’s outside. She’s with her friends.”

“What?!”, Sana shakes her head, “Okay, just keep your head down. I got you.”

They walked out together and Sana made sure to send Nayeon death glares before heading out the door.

She rushed to get Mina inside the car because she had a feeling that Nayeon will come out and chase after them.

This easily broke the wall she had been building the past few weeks, but not completely. She tried to continue her usual activities in life. School, work, business, and friends. But the moment she saw Nayeon, everything became a mess.

A few days passed after that encounter at the coffee shop, she was supposed to meet Mr. Matsui right after her shift but Nayeon begged to talk to her.

To be fair to her, she gave the girl a chance to explain herself and they went to a secluded area of Seoul to talk.

It was a long night of patience and understanding.

Her cold heart warmed when Nayeon touched her hands. It reminded her of how they were before things fell apart.

She asked Nayeon to give her some time to think and to absorb everything. It wasn't easy but she tried.

Now here they are in Nayeon’s flat, eating some cup noodles and fried chicken.

They both laugh at each other’s jokes and new stories like they usually do.

Nayeon tries to fix what she broke. It’s only just if she does too, right?

They’ve been like this for days, just meeting in secrecy. The intimacy between them is fired up day by day. From holding hands to cuddling, then from soft kisses to aggressive ones.

Nayeon finally has the guts to ask in formality what their “relationship” is at this point.

“Mina, I’m sorry for what I did. I hope you do know that I’m serious about you and about us. I will fight every single person who goes against us.”

“Even if it’s your parents?”, she asks.

“Yes, even if it’s my parents.”

Mina grabs Nayeon’s hands and kisses her fingers.

“I’ve already forgiven you since you've started picking me up almost every day at the coffee shop. Just promise me that if something comes up that you think will affect our relationship, you'll let me know before you decide on anything.”

“Baby, of course! You’re the one I’m in a relationship with, right? I got you, you got me.”

“Before I forget, my last name is Myoui. Just in case.”, she laughs.

Nayeon buries her face on her chest and whines, “Ahhh, okay. Mina Myoui, whose English name is Sharon, from a prominent family in Japan, who is now free of her parents’ manipulations while here I am, Im Nayeon of Im Enterprises, still under this tragic and unfortunate life.”

Mina pouts, “Tragic and unfortunate life? But you have me?”

“And that’s what is making my life so much better now. Because I have you. I love you so much, Mina.”

“I like this cheesy side of you.”, Mina blushes. “It always makes me feel things. I love you, Im Nayeon of Im Enterprises.”

They’re lying on Nayeon’s bed with the girl laying her head on her chest, giving her the most wonderful feeling in the world. Being loved.

Mina is released from the pains of the past. Her heart is light, her mind is on the right track. Everything is in its own place again and she can’t wait to explore more of what the world has for her and Nayeon to conquer together.

“Good night, my love.”

* * *

**1 month later**

“Nayeon, dear, have you already eaten dinner?”

“Hey dad, yup! How did the investigation go? I lost track of what happened after the PR and I’ve been busy with school and some stuff.”

After the break-up news broke out, Nayeon had been extra busy with school and attending some social events to talk to her peers about her “break-up with Jackson”.

“Good job on the PR! Jackson did well in introducing some entertainment agencies to us. Actually, a few ones have already reached out to us for a partnership. As for the culprit, the Chois have hired someone to steal our blueprints. We told them we will be filing a case against them given our number of evidence in hand but it looks like they’ll be settling with our demands. Another competitor out of the list, I suppose.”

“That’s good news. Now, _I_ have good news. Mina and I are back together even if that stupid PR broke us off for a while.”

Nayeon’s dad looks taken aback by the information. “Wow, the two of you are still together? If she’s still that persistent despite what’s happened, then I salute her. Maybe one day we could meet her.”

“Really?!”, she screams for joy, “You will love her, I swear. She’s the smartest and kindest person ever.”

“Alright, set a date then. One more thing, please get dressed. We have a meeting later with a potential partner from Japan. From the healthcare industry and they’re one of the biggest. Plus, I want you to lead the presentation. I want to see how well you'll do.”

“Sure, I'll prepare now.”

They come to the potential partner’s parking lot in separate cars. The building looks new and all equipment is being carried in carefully.

Everything looks expensive and elegant for a semi-private hospital.

The receptionist assists them and directs them in which room their meeting will be held.

They sit inside the big office and wait for whoever they’ll be presenting their proposal to.

Soon enough, a soft voice greets them. A very familiar one for Nayeon.

“Hi, thank you for waiting. I’m Myoui Mina from Myoui Hospitals.”

Nayeon’s jaw drops.

Her dad coughs and greets Mina, seeing her daughter's communication skills has lagged.

“Hi, Ms. Myoui. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today. We’re pleased to formally welcome your company in Seoul and we wish you a fruitful business here. My daughter, Nayeon, will be leading the presentation. Nayeon?”

It’s Mina. Her Mina, dressed in a skirt suit set.

_My baby looks so fucking hot. How on earth am I gonna concentrate here?!_

She panics a bit and clears her throat, “Hi, Ms. Myoui. I’m Im Nayeon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

They shake hands a bit too long and Mina sends her a deadly smirk.

If her dad wasn’t here, she would have definitely pushed Mina on the table and ate her up.

It’s kind of thrilling, the situation they’re in. Much like a role-play she would definitely need to try with her soon.

She proceeds to present the proposal to Mina.

During the entire presentation, Nayeon avoids making eye contact with her, afraid she might flirt with her on the spot, right in front of her dad. But she can clearly see Mina holding in her laugh with how she’s struggling to make her presentation look normal.

The partnership is basic. Myoui Hospitals will be an exclusive partner of Im Enterprises for over a year, being the first to test their latest technologies intended for healthcare.

Mina browses through the list of products Im Enterprises will be providing.

_God, Mina, please stop looking so hot._

Mina’s just sitting, going through their presentation, biting her lower lip as she thinks, and Nayeon’s feeling hot and a bit _turned on_. There’s just something about corporate Mina and the way she acts that magnetizes her and tempts her.

“I’m actually okay with the proposal, _Ms. Im_. Let me just send it over to my brother in Japan so their team can assess. Our country manager will be receiving this as well when he gets back.”

Nayeon can only nod. Her dad steps in again, “If that is the case, please don’t hesitate to contact any of us for some clarifications. We’d be glad to help expedite the partnership. Before I forget, how are your parents doing?”

“Oh! Have you met my parents before?”

“Yes. In fact, we used to have business with them back in Japan but ever since the growth of Im Enterprises here in Seoul, I wasn’t able to get in touch with them. Please do let them know that we hope to meet them again soon.”

Mina stands and walks them to the door.

“I will surely tell them. Thank you for coming, Mr. Im, Ms. Im. Have a great day.”

Nayeon's head throbs as she thinks of how on earth her girlfriend managed to keep this from her. She wasn't the only one who lived a double life like her. Mina did too, now that she has met the other side of her.

While waiting for the elevator, Nayeon tells her dad to go ahead, excusing that she left something in ‘Ms. Myoui’s office’.

She knocks and hears Mina loudly say, ‘come in’. She peaks her head in, biting her lower lip, not forgetting to lock the door.

“Myoui Mina, you are a dangerous girl.”

Mina’s sitting behind her desk and she walks over to sit on her lap, pulling her skirt up to allow her legs to spread.

“That was a nice way of meeting your dad. He seemed nervous but nothing was more nervous-looking than your face while you were presenting, babe.”, Mina teases.

Nayeon giggles and kisses Mina’s neck.

“Baby, I can’t help it. My dad’s in the room and you look so hot in this outfit.”

“Wait, but the biggest surprise is that both of our parents knew each other. If I’d known, I would’ve swept you up back then.”, Mina laughs and later succumbs into her kisses. She lifts her head and crashes her lips onto hers, aggressively biting her lower lip.

She’s come to know what Mina’s favorite parts of her are. The lower lip, that’s for sure. Her chest, and her thighs.

That twenty-minute presentation really got Nayeon hungry for Mina that when someone knocks on the door, she doesn’t leave Mina’s lap right away but stays a bit longer to savor every touch her girlfriend is giving her.

“Baby, chill.”

Mina pulls away and tells her to hide under the table.

“Ohh, then I’ve just the perfect view for when you sit.”, Nayeon winks.

Mina stands, fixes herself using her phone’s front camera, and walks to the door to unlock it.

“Hey, Park. What brings you in today? Any good news for me?”

She walks back and sits on her chair. Nayeon’s playful fingers slowly trace Mina’s legs as soon as she sits but just when she’s about to lift the girl’s skirt, she hears a voice close to home.

_Oh boy, today is full of surprises._

“Mina, maybe I could refer my best friend as a partner. They’re basically one of the biggest tech companies in South Korea. I bet you guys can work on something together.”

“Jihyo?”, Nayeon whispers.

Unknown to her, her voice was loud enough that both Mina and Jihyo hear her.

“Who are you hiding there, Mina? Did I interrupt something?”, Jihyo giggles.

“Oh hell no. Park Jihyo?!” Nayeon pushes Mina out of the way to confirm if the girl Mina’s talking to is really her best friend, Park Jihyo.

To her surprise, it really is her.

The three of them stare at each other in bewilderment.

Mina whistles, “Well, this is interesting…”

“Wait! Wait! Nayeon? Mina’s Jeju girl?”

“Jeju girl? That’s what you refer to me?”

This is way too funny for her. And very surprisingly weird.

“Hold on! Jihyo, how did you and Mina meet?”

Jihyo explains, “Remember that time I went to Switzerland to study? That’s where I met Mina. We met again a few years later at another event in Japan and we kept in touch since then.”

Nayeon looks from afar, “Oh yeah, I remember that you went there for school.”

“Mina, she’s actually the one I was going to refer to you. I just thought your hospital could work with them but it looks like she has already _presented_ her proposal to you.”, Jihyo winks.

“I literally presented to her with my dad so your innuendo is really useless.” She scoffs.

Jihyo clicks her tongue and makes a bitter face. She stands to place a folder on Mina’s desk.

“Anyway, I came by to drop this off. It’s a list of potential partners you can work with from three different sectors.” She then turns to her best friend and Mina, “I’m really happy for the two of you. Let’s have dinner next time.”

Mina waves at Jihyo and thanks her for the list. She locks the door and double checks if the blinds in her office are shut tight.

“I hate how my best friend had to interrupt what we were doing.” Nayeon stands and clears Mina’s desk so she can sit on it. “What are we supposed to do now? I’m still feeling hot with how really sexy you look in that.”, she ends with a smirk.

“Is that so?”, Mina walks to stand in between her legs, sliding her fingers up her skirt until she reaches the wetness of her core through her underwear, rubbing it.

Nayeon releases a low moan.

Mina whispers in her ear, “Ahh… music to my ears.”

The four walls of Mina’s office are witness to how much they love and crave each other’s intimacy.

Nayeon hopes for this fleeting moment to last a lifetime and she'll do whatever it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we are down to one more chapter and an epilogue hehe
> 
> I just want to say thank you to all those who enjoyed reading this short fic of mine huhu I'm soft with all of your comments uwu
> 
> If you guys wanna interact with me, I'm on twitter @misamopink (yes, I'm a twicepink stan)
> 
> and don't forget to vote for ICSM!!!!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here's the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy reading this one as much as you enjoyed reading the entire fic ❤️

Mina stands in front of the mirror, checking if the outfit she’s wearing is good enough for tonight’s occasion.

She’s wearing a simple long-sleeved black floral dress.

“Babe, are you ready?”, Nayeon asks from behind with a box of cake in hand.

She turns around and nods with a smile.

“Let’s go. You don’t have to worry about anything. You look beautiful as always.”

It’s Nayeon’s dad’s birthday and the party’s being held privately in their home.

Her dad wants to celebrate it first with just them then later on with the company, some relatives, and friends. It’s also going to be Mina’s first time meeting her family so it’s only normal for her to be nervous a little and she wants to leave a good first impression on them.

Nayeon parks on the driveway and before entering her home, she looks Mina in the eyes and tells her to relax.

“My family will love you. Seoyeon’s been dying to meet you already.”

They enter and the size of her girlfriend’s house blows her away. It may seem like any regular house on the outside but on the inside, it’s a whole different thing.

Nayeon’s family is by the dining table waiting for the food to be served.

“Hi, dad, happy birthday!”

“Hi, dear! I’m glad you’re finally here. Now, where is that girlfriend of yours?”

“Speaking of, she’s right over here.”

Nayeon steps aside to introduce her.

Mina gives Nayeon’s dad a big smile and hands him the box of cake.

“Happy birthday, Mr. Im. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”

Nayeon’s dad turns to Nayeon then back to Mina with wide eyes, quite perplexed as to why the lady they presented to last time in the Myoui Hospitals is here and then it hits him.

Her daughter’s girlfriend _is_ Myoui Mina.

He clears his throat and bows at her, surprising everyone in the room, including Mina.

“Thank you, Ms. Myoui. Please have a seat.”

Seeing her dad act like that is a mystery to Nayeon.

_Oh right, I may have left out the part where I should have told my dad that my Mina is a Myoui._

Dinner was a bit awkward, to say the least. Luckily, Seoyeon was there conversing with Mina and she’s glad her girlfriend answered gracefully her younger sister's and mom’s series of questions about her personal life.

Every year, the Ims' tradition during a private birthday celebration is to have a mini bonfire by the backyard with some marshmallows and sausages after dinner. 

Nayeon leaves for a while to get Kookeu from his pen inside and Seoyeon, too, to grab another bag of chips.

That leaves Mina with her girlfriend’s parents. Alone.

Nayeon’s mom sits closer to her and asks, “So, Mina, Nayeon tells me you’re a Dance major. Why choose that program and why in Seoul, if I may ask?”

Mina smiles at the question. Her mom seems genuinely interested and curious about her life.

“My parents wanted me to manage the business— me and my brother, actually. Then I told them I didn’t want to do anything with it because I've grown uninterested in it. I'm not a corporate type of person. Let’s just say it was a long fight between me and them but in the end, they allowed me to take the program and I wanted to study in Seoul so they allowed me. They finally gave me that piece of freedom I’ve been yearning for.”

“I see…”, Nayeon’s mom says, her expression cannot be painted, “How are your parents doing now, by the way? I'm sure my husband has not left out the fact that we used to do business with your parents when we were in Japan.”

“They’re doing well and the business is thriving as usual. I have been helping them out with the business here in Seoul, looking for partners and clients but it’s only temporary. So far, I've closed a few deals alongside our country manager.”

Now, Nayeon's mom has that big smile on her face. She seems content with how she answered her questions.

“Well, I’m happy you make our daughter happy.”

“She deserves the best and she makes me happy too.”

Nayeon’s mom looks down and hesitantly asks, “Do you happen to be the same girl that our daughter had been seeing in Jeju?”

Mina gives them a sad smile, “Yes, I’ve been seeing Nayeon since we were in Jeju but then we stopped for a while when her dating scandal came out.”

Nayeon's mom and dad look at each other with guilty faces. 

“About that, we hope you understand why it needed to happen.”

She sighs, “The sad thing is I do. I totally understand why it happened. It just pained how I and Nayeon had to go through that.”

“Thank you that even after that mess, you still accepted our Nayeon.”, Nayeon's mom says as she places her hand on top of Mina's.

She blushes and suddenly squeals when a dog jumps on her lap.

“Kookeu! Don’t hurt the love of my life!”, Nayeon screams from the sliding door.

Nayeon’s parents take that as their cue to leave and call it a night.

“Mina, it was a pleasure meeting you finally, and thank you again. We hope to see more of you in the future.”, Nayeon's parents say.

The smiles on their faces look genuine and the overall aura of the situation is light. Everything about that night is. Like a huge load has finally been lifted off of her chest.

“Likewise, Mr. and Mrs. Im. I hope we get to have another chance to get to know each other.” Mina bows in respect.

Mina carries Kookeu like a baby and glances at Nayeon who is talking briefly with her parents inside. She soon heads out with Seoyeon clinging to her.

“Mina-unnie, I’ve got us another bag of chips!”, Seoyeon says, letting go of Nayeon to sit beside Mina.

The three of them sit side-by-side eating some chips and marshmallows on sticks while Kookeu runs around the grass, playing with his toy.

Seoyeon asks something that’s been lingering in her mind for quite some time now since Mina’s arrival. But before she drops the question, she leans into her sister to ask her permission first. Nayeon smirks and gives her a go signal.

“Mina-unnie, is working in a coffee shop something you like? You said during dinner that your family has a business in Japan but you chose to give that up and moved here. Why?”, Nayeon smiles at her and turns at Mina with so much affection, wondering how she will answer it.

She hums, “Working here is something I never really expected. Yeah, I have the name and money and all I have to do is to live up to everyone's expectations to be successful but I keep asking myself 'am I truly happy with that?'”, she takes a bite of her marshmallow, “I rejected our business because I wasn’t happy with how my life was being controlled by my parents. I proved to them that following my passion will not only make me successful but also happy.”

Seoyeon frowns, “That’s what I want to do too but I’m afraid that if I go against them, I would lose everything.”

“If they really love you, they would support you but judging by the things I’ve seen today from your family, I think you’ll be fine if you go for what you want.”, She smiles at her.

“I’m worried about my unnie who’s sacrificed a lot to make them happy.”

Nayeon then interjects, “Seoyeon-ah, don’t worry about unnie. I can handle this.”, flexing her arms as if she has visible cuts on them.

She laughs at her girlfriend and pats Seoyeon’s head.

“Yeah, Seoyeon. Don’t worry about your unnie. She has me along the way and I’ll stay by her side to make sure that she doesn’t get too crazy with everything. Just keep on doing what you’re doing and find what makes you happy.”

What she said melted Nayeon’s heart, making her smile that turns her eyes into crescent moons. Nayeon thinks that her girlfriend is not only good with actions but also with words. She definitely gave Seoyeon some things to think about just by telling her story.

Mina will definitely stick around in her life. She hopes that in whatever lifetime, she will always be there with her.

Seoyeon finally heads inside with Kookeu and says 'good night' to the couple.

They’re now lying on the couch watching the stars above them.

“Baby, thank you for coming with me today. I’m happy that my family finally got to meet you. Although, it was a bit awkward with my dad.”, Nayeon laughs, rubbing her hand along Mina's arms.

“Nayeonie, you know I’d do anything for you. Besides, I think it’s about time we _officially_ meet. Not as Mina from Myoui Hospitals but as Mina, Im Nayeon's girlfriend.”, Mina lightly chuckles.

“Do you have any plans for the winter break?”, she asks.

Mina blows her warm breath in her hands to keep her warm.

“Yes, I’ll be going home to Japan. What about you?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe we’ll spontaneously fly somewhere, I don’t know.”, Nayeon shrugs.

“Do you want to go to Japan with me?”, Mina suggests, sitting up.

“To meet your parents?!”

“Yeah, to meet my family and to tour, do whatever you want.”

“Yes, of course, I would love to!”

* * *

Preparation for the winter break is always chaotic. With everyone rushing to book their flights back home, students also rush to finish their final exams.

Mina and Nayeon slowly take their relationship publicly by going on late night bike dates and by semi-publicly dining in nice restaurants, sometimes with Jihyo and other times, with Sana.

The press slowly gets a hold of the two with a few articles popping up here and there saying that ‘Socialite Im Nayeon spotted with a pretty girl along Han River looking sweet and intimate’.

What’s funny is when the photos were published, Nayeon teases the public, even more, especially her 504,000 followers on Instagram by posting a picture with Mina and tags her.

Nayeon wouldn’t do this without Mina’s consent even if her page is full of pictures of her Lego sets and Ray.

In a span of twenty minutes, Mina has gained 25,000 new followers as reported by Chaeyoung, in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the socialite through her eyes. The public does adore Nayeon and loves to see bits and pieces of her elegant private life.

Mina would walk along the hallways of her university and people would stare at her, like some sort of a celebrity.

Some greeted her with bitter looks because of her pictures with Nayeon and others are just too speechless to even utter a word.

One time, while falling in line in the university’s cafeteria for lunch, she overhears two girls behind her whisper something like ‘isn’t she the girl in Im Nayeon’s post?’ and ‘wow, she and Im Nayeon look really good together’.

She just smiles and goes about her day.

_Soon enough, Nayeon and I wouldn’t have to hide anymore._

* * *

“Babe, my driver’s already downstairs.”, Nayeon says impatiently, standing by Mina's door.

“Yeah, just a sec. I just need to make sure Sana’s all good before we go.”

Nayeon watches her rub her hands on Sana’s arms to keep her warm. She’s got a bad case of the colds the previous day while sending off Dahyun to the train station. She will be spending the entire break at home with her family while she stays in Seoul to spend it with Momo.

“Hey, the kitchen’s packed and I’ve already set the heater to keep you warm while waiting for Momo. Call me if you need anything and I’ll send someone over to check up on you.”

Sana chuckles while she makes herself comfortable in the huge blanket she got her.

“I’ll be fine, Mitang. Go now or else, you’ll miss your flight and the two of you will be stuck here with us.”

Mina places the back of her hand on her neck and forehead.

 _Yup, still warm. She needs to stay in for a few days._  
  
“Okay, okay. Let me just get you a glass of water.”

She goes to the kitchen to fill a huge bottle of warm water for her.

Meanwhile, the impatient girl standing by the door grows even more impatient. She clicks her tongue and raises her eyebrows at her, “Myoui Mina.”

She knows that tone and when she hears it, it's time to follow.

“We have to go now, Sana. You and Momo help yourself here. See you in a few weeks!”

She presses a warm kiss on her best friend’s forehead and rushes to head out of her loft.

“If ever, tell my grandma I miss her!”

The moment they stand by the boarding gate, Nayeon finds her legs shaking. Not because of the cold winter weather but because of her nerves.

In her past relationships, she’s met her exes’ parents with much confidence because they all belong in the same social class. Nothing really bothered her but now that she’s dating someone she loves and cherishes, she’s scared she might fuck things up again.

She already fucked up the first time and she will definitely not let history repeat itself.

Mina notices her uneasiness while waiting to board their flight.

“Nayeonie, are you cold? You look a bit pale. Are you worried about meeting my parents? You know they love you, right? Even if you met them first via video call?”, Mina reassures her.

It’s true. Nayeon shouldn’t really worry about anything with Mina’s family. They love her guts, humor, and confidence ever since.

“I know, it’s just that this is important. I’m sure they’re well aware of what happened between us.”

Mina sighs and smiles, “Baby, you’ve got to let go of that one. I’ve already forgiven you and I’m sure they have too.” She caresses her face and gives her a soft, lingering kiss on the forehead to calm her. “They will love you even more after this. I’m sure of it.”

It’s a two-hour flight full of cheesiness and kisses under blankets and in-between short naps. She can feel Mina’s excitement.

Maybe Mina will show her around from her favorite restaurants to the places she frequented, or maybe to her secret spots with Sana?

But as they got out of the arrival bay, a few photographers are already anticipating for them that as soon as they appeared to be heading out, camera flashes started going off, confusing them a bit.

Mina takes a step back to hide from the cameras and calls her driver to pick them up at another bay where no one can notice them. She also asks Nayeon to check online if anything related to her has been published.

There were some articles saying that ‘Im Nayeon and her mystery girl spotted at Gimpo International Airport’. Lucky for them, they still had a bit of privacy in the boarding gates and their lip smacks weren’t captured on camera. Mina keeps on forgetting that she's not a regular person in Seoul.

When they got out, the two of them were greeted by two men in all black. Their big bodies completely hid them from the photographers.

It’s around ten in the morning when they arrive at Mina's neighborhood. Nayeon’s body starts to feel heavy and tired. Maybe she’s feeling nauseous because, in a matter of minutes, she’ll be meeting her girlfriend’s parents and future business partners.

“Baby, if I get sick, will you take care of me like how you took care of Sana a while ago?”, she asks with her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

Mina panics a little and feels the temperature of her neck and cups her cheeks.

“Why? Are you not feeling well right now? I’ll prepare a warm bath when we get home.”

Nayeon lets her know that she’s fine and that she’s feeling sick again because of her jitters.

“In all honesty though, how will you take care of me when I get sick? Similar to Sana’s?", she asks, leaning into Mina's hand on her cheek.

“Why are you so eager to find out?”, Mina smiles.

“Because you were so sweet to her and I wonder if you’d be like that to me as well.”, she whines.

Mina wraps her up in a hug and nuzzles her face on her neck. “Nayeonie, I’m always sweet to you. But if you’re sick, I will treat you like a queen.”, she says, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Really? Like a queen?”, she playfully asks.

Mina then presses light kisses on her neck, “Of course. The love of my life deserves nothing but the best.”

Just like that, her uneasiness is washed away and her mood is up and alive again. Mina took all that in just a few exchanges and it amazes her how Mina makes her feel these emotions.

Mina’s neighborhood looks exactly like hers back in Seoul. The houses are huge and everything looks rich and expensive. The driver presses a button on a small remote and the garage door rises and they enter.

“Ms. Myoui, we’ll be taking your luggage to your room as directed by your parents. They also informed us that no helper will be sent to organize your things.”, one of the men speaks up in Japanese.

“Yeah, you could all go. I'm good for the day. I also won’t be needing any drivers during my entire stay here. Thanks.”

All Nayeon could do was give Mina a longing look as she speaks in her native language. 

_Now, why do I feel hot all of a sudden?_

Mina holds her hand and they finally enter the house. It looks bigger on the inside compared to the one you see outside. It’s stylish and the childhood photos of Mina and her brother are on display all around. They head upstairs and she sees more pictures of Mina in her recitals when she was young. Plaques of the accomplishments of Myoui Hospitals are also not hard to miss on the shelves.

“Wow, I can’t believe this is how my wonderful girlfriend looks like as a pre-schooler. You look so adorable here.”, Nayeon coos over the childhood photo and places it beside Mina’s face to compare. “And you still are to this day. Much _more_ adorable. Can I keep this one?”

Mina puffs her cheeks and smiles. 

“Here’s a glass of water. Let’s go to my room and settle in before we meet my parents. They told me they’ll be home early today to meet with us.”

Mina opens the door to her room and she takes in the scent. It’s like she never left. It still smells like the same jasmine perfume she sprayed on herself before she took that flight to Seoul.

Certificates, medals, more childhood photos, and books decorate her shelves and walls. She even points out a picture of her and Jihyo from back in Switzerland and Nayeon laughs at how comical her best friend looked.

They still have two hours to kill so they decided to change into some comfortable clothes and take a quick nap because they woke up early today for their flight.

Nayeon wakes to use the restroom.

On her way back to the bed, a photo on the wall catches her attention.

It's a photo of Mina and Sana in what she assumes to be during their middle school years.

The two of them were locked up in an embrace then she notices another photo of them but with Momo this time.

Mina and Sana kiss in the photo with Momo embracing them on the side. The last photo though felt a bit painful to look at.

It’s her and Sana again during their high school graduation with Mina looking at Sana like she’s her whole world. A caption below the polaroid says, ‘Mina + Sana together, forever ❤’.

She whispers, “I wonder if you look at me the way you look at Sana here.”.

A pair of arms wrap around her middle, soft kisses peck her shoulder.

“Much more than that, my love. Sana is my best friend and she’ll always have a special place in my heart but you, Nayeon, are my everything.”

She shakes her head for thinking of something like this. Why would she even compare her relationship with Sana's? It was a long time ago and Mina has made it clear so many times that her love for Sana is platonic. She hates it when she feels this way.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that my insecurities are eating me alive since this morning.”

“Baby, there's nothing to be insecure about. You’re enough for me. If you think that we still don’t know each other that well then we have a lot of time for that. And don’t ever compare yourself to Sana because the two of you are different and there is nothing to compare.”

Nayeon finally turns around and kisses Mina on the lips.

* * *

Mina grabs her car keys and surprises Nayeon furthermore with a luxury car parked in their garage.

Nayeon pinches herself for not even noticing the other vehicles inside when they got in earlier.

“Is this your own car?”, she gasps.

“All cars here are used by everyone in the family except my brother’s. His car is parked in his flat. This is what we’ll be using during our stay here.”

It’s not like it’s Nayeon’s first time in a luxury car but it’s because it’s her first time seeing Mina in her high social class self. She got so used to seeing her as a regular girl living a regular life in Seoul that she even forgets that she’s also from a prominent family like her.

She can’t help but pounce on her girlfriend on the driver’s seat and nibbles on her ear.

“ _Babe, seeing this side of you is so sexy. Show me more of it._ ”

Let’s just say they spent a good few minutes making out in the car before they finally drive off to the restaurant her parents asked her to meet up for late lunch.

When they get to the restaurant, Mina’s parents are already there ordering food for them.

“Hi mom, hi dad!”, she cheerfully greets and wraps her arms around them.

“Mina! Oh my, you look so beautiful. Hi, Nayeon. It's nice to finally meet you!”

Mina’s mom turns to her and hugs her. Mina’s dad shakes her hand.

She's surprised that both of Mina's parents are fluent in Korean.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Myoui. Wow, your Korean is really good.”

“My parents know a lot of languages since they need to attend international conferences but they’re mostly fluent in Korean and English.”, Mina explains.

A few moments later, Mina’s brother arrives. No one knew he would come but her parents did inform him of the time and place just in case his schedule is free.

He covers Mina’s eyes from behind and asks her to guess.

Mina forcefully pulls the hands from her eyes and jumps in joy once she sees her brother in person.

“Ah! Onii-chan! I thought you wouldn’t make it today. Will you be bringing home Ray now that I’m here?”

Mina pulls out the biggest pout she has ever seen. Literally the cutest one yet.

“You can pick him up from my flat but if you will be going out, please return him.”, Kai says, ruffling his little sister’s hair.

Mina grunts, “Anyway, Onii-chan, meet my girlfriend, Nayeon. Nayeon, meet my onii-chan, Kai.”

Nayeon straightens her back and greets her brother in her best Japanese.

Kai smiles and shakes her hand.

“Is this _the_ Nayeon from Im Enterprises? The proposal you sent me weeks ago?”

Mina nods.

“Amazing. Nice to finally meet you, Nayeon.”

They all take their seats and wait for their food to arrive.

“Nayeon, how are your parents doing? Still strict with the business?”, Mina’s mom opens up.

“My parents are doing great. They’ve actually let loose a bit this time since Mina came in the picture.”, she tightens her hold on Mina’s hand from under the table.

Mina’s dad smiles at that and says, “I’m glad Mina has a positive effect on you. How is the business going on in Seoul so far? I hope we could meet them again soon.” He faces Kai and says, "Say yes to the deal so we could go to Seoul and meet them."

Kai just laughs it off and justifies, "You know how my team is thorough in doing their research. We'll get there soon. Just you wait, dad."

Nayeon then continues, "I trust his team's research but I can assure you, Im Enterprises can definitely help your business grow.", she winks, "Anyway, business is actually going well. We’ve tapped into another industry and we’re able to close deals with some really huge clients.”

Kai leans into Nayeon to whisper, “Don’t worry about our partnership, Nayeon. My team’s already reviewing your proposal and products. Maybe after the break, we can give you an update.”

“Please do take your time. We’re in no rush. As long as you’re fine with everything, then we’re good on our end.”, Nayeon enthusiastically says.

The food finally arrives and they dive in. It's a three-course meal as expected.

In time for dessert, Nayeon grows curious about how deep both her and Mina’s parents’ relationship went as former business partners. She asks Mina if it would be alright to ask.

“Mr. and Mrs. Myoui, may I know how well you know my parents?”

Mina’s dad begins, “We met them when they were expanding here in Japan. Since they’re at the forefront of the company, they were the ones meeting with partners and investors. We just happened to meet them at one of the tech conferences here in Tokyo and we closed a two-month contract with them. You and Mina weren’t born yet during that time but we had a few good moments with them outside of work but once things in Seoul skyrocketted, they assigned a senior to manage all partner and client meetings here so they could fly back to Seoul.”

“We lost contact with them since then but we do see them on the news once in a while. They're always making headlines.” Mina’s mom ends.

They finish the remainder of their dessert with a few stories about Mina’s childhood and how rebellious she became when she fought for her ballet program. Her parents did confirm that her grandparents played a huge role in helping Mina discover her passion and they were glad that she did because even if she never chose the family business, Mina still stayed and made sure to help when needed.

* * *

Christmas day comes and Nayeon calls home to greet her family. She quickly shows them Mina who is busy cooking for everyone in the house. Ray also makes an appearance and earns a scream out of Seoyeon on the other line then heads back to Mina's room.

Mina surprises them with a feast she prepared all on her own. 

It was all so worth it.

Seeing their priceless reactions the moment they take a bite of the pasta she made melts her heart on this cold and fine day.

Nayeon can’t help but kiss her in front of her family just because. She loves everything Mina does.

* * *

"Pack a few clothes now, we're going somewhere.", Mina says.

A clueless Nayeon asks, “Where are we going?”

“I’ll be giving you my Christmas gift. Now, pack some clothes good for a few days. We’ll be leaving after lunch.”

Before she could further ask, Mina beats her.

“I already got us tickets and you don’t have to do anything. You just need to pack and follow me.”, ending the confusing exchange with a quick kiss.

When Mina hands her the ticket, she sees that they’re on their way to Sapporo. She internally screams and grabs Mina’s face, squishing her cheeks, “Baby, why is my gift in Sapporo?”

Her girlfriend gestures to zip her mouth and throws away the zipper.

_What. A. Tease._

Nayeon let’s go and pouts her heart-shaped lips.

“Fine, I’ll wait then.”

As soon as they landed, Mina hails a taxi to drive them off to their next destination. She looks outside the window in awe at how beautiful Sapporo is during the winter. She had been here before with her family but being with Mina right now feels different.

The snow sheet covering the entire city wants her to pull Mina and just dive in the snow to play like little kids but that can wait.

The car then stops in front of a traditional Japanese house.

“Thank you. Have a safe drive back.”, Mina politely says to the taxi driver after handing him the payment.

She slides open the entrance door and snaps for Nayeon to come in. She was too busy admiring their surroundings that she forgot that Mina has already unlocked the door of the house.

She couldn’t believe what she’s seeing.

The traditional house looks amazing inside. Everything’s modernized but there’s still that hint of culture and vintage in it.

“Mina, this place is amazing. Do you own this too?”, she asks while browsing through the array of old books on a nearby shelf.

“This is actually my grandparents’ place. I used to spend my summers here when I was young. I’d bring Momo sometimes but it was mostly just me and Sana.”

More childhood photos of Mina and her family are in the living room. 

“Is this Momo and Sana? Wow, you girls look cute in this.”

“Yeah, this was taken during my birthday. My parents accompanied us to a steakhouse and we celebrated it there with those two.”, Mina smiles at the memory, “They really traveled all the way here to celebrate it with me. When I told you they’re whipped for me, I never really lied about it.”

Nayeon sarcastically gasps, “Wow, babe, you’re getting cocky now.”

Mina just shrugs.

While Mina’s fixing their things upstairs, Nayeon tries her hand once more in cooking just to show her appreciation and love to her girlfriend who has treated her like indeed a freaking queen during the entire vacation. Nothing but with the utmost care.

She makes kimchi soup, shrimp fried rice, and grilled some meat.

It all would have been perfect except she overcooked the meat. Scratch that, it was burnt.

She sets the table and hides the burnt meat under the good ones, topped off with some sauce.

Mina emerges from upstairs and smiles widely when she sees Nayeon placing the food on the table. She smells the burnt meat coming from the kitchen and wants to tease Nayeon about it but seeing how happy she is with everything she’s prepared, she doesn’t.

“Ooh, those look great. I can’t wait to eat.”

Nayeon crosses her arms on her chest and eyes her.

“Doesn’t look like it, babe. Your eyes say otherwise.”

“No! I may have smelled the burnt meat but I am excited to taste everything you cooked.” She walks and embraces her. “Let’s finish this and then I’ll take you somewhere nice.”

This is the first time Nayeon’s truly enjoyed her vacation. She may have not made their relationship official in public yet but it feels good knowing that she can walk around freely in places with Mina by her side.

It may take some sneaking around at times back in Seoul but here in a foreign place, she can simply do it all.

Mina takes her to a forest park nearby.

She’s surprised that they took the train going there. No fancy cars nor drivers, just public transportation.

Once they set foot on the white snow sheet, she runs and jumps around on the small pile of snow on the side like a little kid.

“Mina-ya! Come here, quick! Take a picture of me and my snow angel.”

Her girlfriend has other plans in mind. She doesn’t take her picture but instead, balls up some snow in her hand and throws it at her.

"Ah! Mina?!" She screams, brushing off the snow off of her. “So you like it rough, huh?”

She stands and grabs a handful of snow to retaliate.

“You know I like it rough, babe.”

Mina blows her a kiss.

They start a snowball fight on the empty field and are soon halted by a security guard passing by and they apologize. After that, they go around the park hand in hand until Mina finds a spot where they can drink their hot choco to talk and just relax.

“We just got here but I’m already having so much fun. I feel like a normal person again just like when we were in Jeju. Thank you, Mina.”

She blows over her cup and takes a sip.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this vacation. This is probably the best Christmas for me.”

“I just want to ask, why did you take me to this park?”

Mina places an arm over her and fixes her scarf that’s barely hanging around her neck to prevent her from feeling cold.

“This place is very close to my heart. All the important memories of mine happened here.”

She later finds out that in this very park was the time she confessed to her grandparents her love for ballet. This is also where she and Sana promised to be by each other’s side whatever happens. This is where her brother told her to live her life and not to worry about the family business because he will handle it for them. Lastly, this is where she made her biggest life decision yet— to move to Seoul.

“You’re here now because you’re important to me. And it's something I want to keep for the rest of my life.”

* * *

It’s day two of their Sapporo trip and the plan for today is to ski at Mt. Moiwa and to have dinner there before the New Year’s Eve countdown.

Teacher Mina is back and she's here to teach Nayeon something she can cross out on her bucket list.

Aside from surfing, she’s also very good at skiing. She tells her every single thing she needs to do to avoid getting injured while going down the slopes of the mountain.

After a few tries on the beginner slope, Nayeon is confident in taking it up another level. She slides down the mountain but as her speed increases, the more she’s starting to lose control and ends up rolling to the side and crashes on a big pile of snow, burying her.

Mina skis to her rescue and digs in the pile to get her out. 

“Are you okay?! Do you feel any pain?”, she asks while dusting the snow off her face.

She coughs a bit and lets out a loud laugh, confusing Mina a bit.

“That was fun.”

“Are you not hurt?”

“Nope, I am perfectly fine. Let’s go on another round but I’ll be more careful this time.”

Mina sighs in relief.

“You’re crazy, Im Nayeon. Fine, let’s go again.”

Just before dinner time, Nayeon has acquired and improved her skiing skills in just a matter of hours all thanks to her wonderful girlfriend.

On top of the mountain is a premium restaurant and Mina has reserved the perfect table for them overlooking the pretty sunset over the horizon.

It’s inevitable for her to not take pictures of Nayeon. Not when the view is inviting. She perfectly blends with the background like a work of art. One that can’t be missed and should be captured by a camera to preserve its beauty.

“Stop wasting your roll of film on me. Save it for tonight and the remaining days we have.”, Nayeon scolds her.

She defends, “This isn’t wasting. It’s called preserving art. Besides, you look great with the orange at the back.”

Her cheeks heat up.

 _Damn, she really never misses_.

Her sweet words have a way with her, always making her feel butterflies like it’s their first time all over again.

* * *

Minutes before midnight, a large crowd has started to gather around the Sapporo TV Tower for the New Year’s countdown.

Mina and Nayeon’s tired bodies walk around the park to look for the perfect spot while they wait.

Mina’s shoulders start to ache from carrying their backpack the entire day aside from carrying their skis for them earlier.

She doesn’t complain but when they sit on the bench, she immediately pounds on her back to relieve the pain which doesn’t go unnoticed by Nayeon.

“Come here, let me massage your back.”, she offers.

“Ah, no need. It’s not even that painful anymore. I’m okay now.”

“Myoui Mina.”

One of the things that scare Mina is hearing Nayeon call her by her full name. That means that she’s being commanded to do something. Not request, but command.

She faces her back to her and she soon feels Nayeon's hands work up on her back inside her coat.

“Oh, this part seems a bit tense, babe. You should’ve told me sooner about this so I could have carried our stuff.”

She cracks her neck to the sides and shakes her shoulders.

“It’s fine, Nayeonie. You’re my guest and—“.

“Stop saying that. I’m your girlfriend and I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

That suddenly made Mina smile and she leans her back on Nayeon, wrapping her arms around her neck.

“Ahhh Im Nayeon, I like it when you’re sweet and careful.”

“As you should.”, Nayeon murmurs as she kisses Mina’s cheek and neck.

“Babe, not here. We can do more of this later at home.”, Mina giggles.

They soon stand in front of the tower as they watch the time count down to midnight, wrapped in each other’s arms, basking in each other’s warmth.

Three…

Two…

One…

Everybody screams ‘happy new year!’. Fireworks didn’t go off but everyone’s happy and jumping in joy.

A new year has finally come. A fresh start.

Mina looks at Nayeon who is happily observing the people around them.

This is an unusual new year set-up for her because it’s usually with her family, some fireworks, and their peers around. But this one in Japan may just be her favorite.

She leans her head on Mina’s chest as they sway to the sound of the crowd’s cheers. She looks up when she hears Mina call her.

“Last year was such a roller coaster ride. The way we started and ended, and continued again. I hope we get to spend more new years together.” 

“Thank you to your drunk ass who eye-fucked me from across the dance floor. I’m so glad you did that or else I wouldn’t be spending one of the greatest days of my life with you.”

That’s a home run for Mina. She leans in and kisses Nayeon on the lips saying ‘I love you’ in between them.

* * *

For their last day in Tokyo, they shop around popular landmarks and eat at the hidden gems of the city according to Mina. She took Nayeon back to her old high school and played on the school’s playground.

They also visited Sana's grandma and took some stuff her best friend asked.

A Japan trip wouldn't be complete without taking pictures in those cute photo booths by the subways and arcades.

Later at night, Mina’s parents surprised them with some home-cooked meals. Ones that Mina used to eat when she was young.

It was a great last day.

They send them off the next day at the airport and Mina assures her parents that she’ll be back again soon. Or maybe she could just invite them to her future recitals.

Nayeon’s driver picks them up and drops them off at her place. Both looking very tired but happy.

It’s midnight when she wakes up.

She has no idea why her body decides to wake up at this ungodly hour with Mina looking so beautiful and peacefully asleep beside her. She goes to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and sits by the window, admiring the beauty of the river and the city lights.

Her thoughts go crazy just remembering the past few weeks in Japan.

She smiles thinking about all of them. From how she met Mina’s parents to Mina taking her to her favorite and most cherished places in Japan, and to welcoming the new year with her.

Everything was perfect, even now.

She grabs her phone and checks their pictures together.

One particular picture has her swooning over.

It was a picture of her back hugging Mina with the TV Tower behind them. Their smiles were so big and butterflies fill her stomach as she hears Mina’s words replay in her head over and over again, closing her eyes to feel it more.

She then opens her SNS and decides to upload it.

Mina wakes up the next day to see her phone blowing up with messages and missed calls.

She gets that it’s a new year and that she forgot to greet everyone.

It's not her fault she was busy socializing with people offline the past few days, so she ignores her phone for now.

She sees Nayeon lying on the couch with the TV on.

_She must have fallen asleep._

She takes the opportunity to slip inside her arms and softly kisses her plump lips.

_Mornings like this are what I live for._

Nayeon automatically wraps her arms around her and snoozes off again.

Mina takes her phone to finally check what everyone’s been bothering her for and to her surprise, most of the notifications are from her SNS accounts which she rarely use.

A _really_ huge number of people have started following her and sending her message requests.

_What the?_

The only explanation for this is that Nayeon posted something.

Her eyes widen in curiosity. She checks Nayeon’s SNS and sees a picture of them during the new year countdown and the caption says…

_You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It was a crazy start but I like where we are now. You make me the happiest and I wish to make more memories with you. As cheesy and corny as it may sound but you’re the lightning that electrifies my life. You give me energy and hope. I love you so much, Mina._

She can’t believe what she’s just read.

Her eyes begin to well by reading the caption again and again. Her mind and heart only scream 'Nayeon' and she's fallen so hard for her. She wraps her arms tightly around the sleeping girl.

Her girlfriend, _the_ Im Nayeon, just announced to the entire world that she loves her. Basically confirming everyone’s speculations about them. At least, it’s all put to rest. No more stupid PRs. No more of that girl at the coffee shop who keeps asking her out. It’s just her and Nayeon finally out to conquer the world.

This is the happiest feeling Mina’s ever felt. Her heart is soaring so high that all she thinks about is waking up Nayeon and telling her that she loves her. 

Nayeon awakes with Mina nowhere to be found.

She checks every room and every corner of her place but her girlfriend is really not there.

Only a cute set-up of food on the table is there.

She pouts and sits while she thinks about where Mina could have gone to.

She calls her phone but the idiot left her phone on the kitchen counter.

The door soon opens and she sees Mina with flowers in hand.

“Good morning, love.”

Mina hands her the flowers and she takes them with a big question mark on her face.

“What is this for? Late new year’s gift?”, she smiles.

Mina sits beside her, “I just really, really love you, Nayeon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally done! I honestly don't know how to end stories so I just left it at that HAHAHHA
> 
> Thanks to everyone again for supporting and reading this fic! I had so much fun writing this and I'm so glad that in the weeks I wrote this, a once in a blue moon Minayeon selca happened!!!! CRAZY RIGHT?!?!??!
> 
> I'm also working on another fic again (possibly fluff) so I hope you stick around to read it and I'm on twitter too!!! Follow me if u want hehe @misamopink
> 
> And if you have any thoughts or comments, maybe just use the #MinayeonLightning just so I could easily read it??? Idk it's really up to you LMAO
> 
> THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE AND STAY SAFE!!!!


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY MINAYEON DAY!!!!!! 
> 
> Listen to Most of You by Small Forward while reading this. I swear the experience is different or maybe it's just for me HAHAHAA
> 
> Enjoy this little gift to all you minayeon stans out there 💙💚

A beautiful girl in a glittery pink leotard walks on stage. The light dims and all eyes are on her then the string instruments start playing.

The girl begins dancing. Her movements are slow and mesmerizing, enticing your entire being to pay attention only to her.

It works because everyone in the audience watches her every move.

She moves around the stage fluidly doing jumps that wow them the more she does them.

Her smiles are bright and blinding. Watching her perform on stage is like a blessing.

For her final move, she spins and ends with a big leap, and she takes a bow.

The crowd claps and she walks elegantly backstage to make way for the other acts.

After four acts, all performers are called out once again on stage to be introduced and to do their final bows.

“The Nutcracker performed by Myoui Mina.”

Mina walks in front, all smiles, bows, and waves at the crowd. She searches for her guests only to see two empty seats there. Her smile falls flat when she sees that her parents were not able to make it to her senior recital.

But a holler from the crowd puts her gummy smile back on her face.

It’s Nayeon cheering for her. She’s even holding a banner that says “Minaya~ ❤️”.

Her parents may not be there to witness her dance her heart out but the love of her life is.

The performers all make their way backstage to change before heading to their guests.

Mina doesn’t bother changing out of her leotard. She puts on a coat and dashes to the exit to meet Nayeon.

The theater lobby is still a bit crowded so finding her takes a while.

After going through groups of people, she finally finds the girl standing on the far end of the hall to not get any attention on her. She still is, Im Nayeon, after all. The famous socialite, one of the heirs of the Im Enterprises.

“Hey, you.”, she says walking up to her girlfriend.

Nayeon opens up her arms and waits for Mina to come into her embrace.

“You did so well, babe.”, she says, closing the gap between them and breathes in heavily through her nose, addicted to her scent. “I know you’re disappointed that your parents aren’t here but they called me a while ago."

Mina surprisingly asks, “They called you? And not their own daughter?!”

“Mina, their flight got canceled at the last minute because the airport runway got damaged so technically, all flights were canceled for the day.”, Nayeon softly says, brushing off the small hairs sticking on her forehead. “I even offered to pick them up using our private jet but they declined. They told me, however, to give this to you.” She hands her a bouquet of flowers and a pair of earrings. The one that she had been telling her mom for years. “The bouquet is from me, obviously.”

All she could do was coo over her girlfriend’s cuteness.

“You’re so adorable, Im Nayeon. I don’t think I will ever get tired of you.”

“Well, you better not because we have a lifetime to go.”, Nayeon threatens, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, trying to look edgy until Mina places her arms around her neck and pulls her in for another kiss.

Mina tilts her head a bit to deepen it, then she glides her tongue across her girlfriend’s bottom lip agonizingly slow.

“Babe, I’m hungry.”

Nayeon looks her in the eyes, looking like cupid’s arrow hit her again. All her heart does is skip a hundred times. She shakes her head to bring her mind back to reality.

“Uhm, you’re hungry? Good, because I prepared us something.”

“Baby, you cooked? Remember what happened last time?”

“Okay, I left the oven on for too long but my place didn’t burn down, right? Anyway, I asked for help from Jeongyeon. I’m sure you’ll like it this time. Wait, are you not going to change into more comfortable clothes?”

Mina buttons up her coat to cover her costume.

“Why? We’re just going to eat.”

Nayeon chuckles and leans into her ear to whisper, “You sure about that? But why do I get the feeling that we’re also going to do something else in the car?”

“Shh... We’re in public. Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself.”, Mina sticks out her tongue.

What she said was completely different from what she did because she later finds herself riding Nayeon’s fingers on the driver's seat. She curses herself for not changing clothes because her $200 leotard is now completely ruined.

 _Might as well buy a new one_.

She comes undone, panting heavily, resting her head on Nayeon’s.

“I told you so.”, Nayeon teases, breathing in every breath she releases.

“Shut up.”

They’re parked in their usual spot in Bukhansan. It’s an hour before midnight and they’re lying on the blanket Nayeon’s brought for their picnic dinner date. Mina scrolls through her phone while Nayeon watches the stars shine above them.

“Why is there an article about me here?”, Mina laughs at how ridiculous the title is. She reads it aloud, “‘5 Things You Need to Know about Myoui Mina.’ What the hell? This is crazy.”

Nayeon looks at her and asks, “What does it say?”

“Here’s the first one. ‘Her family owns Myoui Hospitals, one of the largest hospital chains in Japan which now has expanded in Seoul. Probably handled by Mina.’ No shit.”

The two of them laugh.

“The second one is ‘Mina has an older brother who handles the family business in Japan’. The third one, ’she’s a dance major at Konkuk University, specializing in ballet’. Wow, they're stating facts.” She scrolls down and continues reading. “Fourth, ‘her hobbies include surfing, knitting, and playing console games as pictured on her SNS’. Okay, that was creepy. How did they know this stuff?”

Nayeon explains, “The media will pay anyone to spill.”

“Lastly, ‘she’s from one of the richest families in Japan. No wonder she and Im Nayeon are very much from the same world. That’s five facts about Im Nayeon’s girlfriend, Myoui Mina’.” She sighs, “That was weird and kind of annoying even if they did state facts.”

“Welcome to my life, babe.”

Mina switches her position and lies on her stomach to rest her head on Nayeon’s chest. She looks at her and smiles.

_Your world is so chaotic but with you, everything is peaceful._

“How’s Kookeu doing by the way?”, she asks.

“I leave him sometimes with Momo and he and Boo seem to really get along. But sometimes Boo is a bit too much. He tires out my little boy.”, Nayeon giggles. “By the way, what’s your plan after college? Are you going to go back to Japan?”

“Why? Do you want me to?”

“Well, I don’t want to be selfish and say ‘no’ but if you really need to then I’ll let you. We have a private jet so I could just visit you whenever I want.”, Nayeon brags, pulling her above her for a hug.

Mina places kisses all over her face.

Life has been like this for the two of them. They still do a bit of sneaking around for their dates but most of the time, they’re just long drives outside of Seoul.

“Well, my plan after college is to join a dance company and maybe help out a bit with the business here.”

Nayeon nods, “That seems ideal. That means I get to be your date when you represent your company in conferences, right? And wow, I can just imagine how beautiful you’ll look.”

“We’ll see about that but who knows.”, Mina teases, coaxing Nayeon to stand up and pack their things because it’s already getting late and Mina still has to fix her graduation requirements.

* * *

The day of her graduation arrives and students wearing their togas flock to the auditorium.

When Mina’s called on stage to receive her diploma, she hears a loud “Mina!” at the back, embarrassing her a bit.

Nayeon is crazy for doing this. Mina can see her cheer for her beside her family who is laughing uncontrollably.

After the ceremony, Mina runs up to her friends to take pictures. Momo’s, Sana’s, and Mina’s parents stay on the side as they watch their daughters take pictures, reminding them of how they were when they graduated high school back in Japan.

Momo finally introduces Chaeyoung to her parents and they’re delighted with her artistic freedom, seeing her arms covered in different small tattoos.

Sana also introduces Dahyun to her family, though this is not their first time as Sana had already introduced her in their previous video calls. The bright smile Dahyun shows them seals the deal for them. Looks like they’ll be craving to see more of Dahyun in their lives.

Then there’s Mina talking to her parents with Nayeon by her side. They ask her, “Nayeon, your graduation is happening in a few days. Any plans?”.

Nayeon responds, “My plan is to train my younger sister with the business so she could begin helping me out. My parents have already set up some schedules for me with some partners since they want me to be the “face of the company". Also, since you’ll be in town for a week then maybe you would want to have dinner with us? This would be a great opportunity for you to meet them again after all those years.”

“Yeah, I agree! Mom, dad, let’s go.”

Mina’s dad says, “I don’t see any problem so yes, we’ll be there.”

“We could do it right after my graduation.”, Nayeon beams.

After two days, it’s Nayeon’s turn to march and get her degree.

If Mina thinks that what Nayeon did during her graduation was embarrassing, then what she does at hers is even more embarrassing.

She has a really soft voice and is only loud when she’s either frustrated, when she sees something cute, or during sex.

When Nayeon's name is called on stage, she’s shocked to hear that Mina has that much voice in her. She hears a really loud, “Im Nayeon, I love you!” at the back.

Her parents, who are sitting on the right front side of the auditorium, turn to see who that person was but they shake and hide their smiles once they see that it’s Mina.

Nayeon freezes on stage when she hears her. She doesn’t know if she’s mortified, happy, or both. And Jihyo’s got it all on video, panning from her surprised face to a cheerful and proud Mina at the back.

Jihyo and Nayeon take pictures after the ceremony. She encourages Jeongyeon to join in as well since the three of them grew up together.

Mina then offers to take their pictures.

“Park, I’ll be seeing you in a few months. Say hello to Tzuyu for me.”

The girls bid farewell to Jihyo and Jeongyeon calls Nayeon’s driver to pick them up.

When they arrive in the garage, Nayeon tells Jeongyeon to go home, that she can rest for a few weeks.

Nayeon changes into more casual clothes then they drive off to pick up Mina’s parents from the hotel.

“Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Myoui. I’m really excited for you to meet my parents, again.”

The two of them chuckle, “We are too, Nayeon. It’s unfortunate that Kai couldn’t be here today.”

Mina pouts, “I hope the next time you come here, onii-chan can come along.”

The graduation dinner with the Myouis and Ims went well as expected. Both of Nayeon’s and Mina’s parents talked nonstop about their business back in the days like there’s no tomorrow that the couple and Seoyeon grew tired of it.

“Can we please talk about anything else like Mina-unnie’s recital or _mine_? Business talk is so boring.”, Seoyeon whined.

“You should get used to this. This will be your life in the coming years.”, Nayeon advised.

Seoyeon gasped, “That’s why I have a sister like you because you’ll be leading it and not me.”

Mina laughed, “Seoyeon-ah, your sister can’t run this all on her own. She needs someone like you to help her out. How else will we go out on dates?”.

Nayeon’s cheeks turned red. She didn’t expect that Mina would blurt that out in front of their parents.

Mina’s dad turned his attention to them and said, “Speaking of dates, are you two planning on getting married anytime soon?”, he laughed.

“I second. We want to have a grandchild running around the house.”, Nayeon’s mom chimed in.

The couple looked at each other with wide eyes.

Nayeon eyed Mina to speak up.

Mina cleared her throat, “Uhm, yeah, about that. Well, Nayeon and I have some plans for the future but we’ll let you know once we have decided on some things.”

All Nayeon did was nod and smile. She thought to herself, _s_ _omeday._

* * *

**4 years later**

It’s the first fundraising event of the Im Foundation which was started and led by Nayeon’s younger sister, Seoyeon. She’s finally stepping into the family business even if it took a lot of persuasion from Nayeon, but mostly it was Mina who did it.

“Everything looks good, Seoyeon.”, Nayeon says as she observes the venue and every little thing in it.

Seoyeon fixes her dress and says, “Thank you, unnie. But where’s Mina-unnie? I was expecting to see her by your side.”

“Your Mina-unnie is running a bit late. She had to pick up her dress from her designer.”

The event begins with the auction. It starts strong with a few people bidding huge sums for their prized possessions.

Nayeon wanders at the back of the venue by the bar and grabs a drink of her own, just watching everything unfold. She’s really proud of her younger sister for stepping up this time. Soon, a pair of hands cover her eyes.

“Hi love, I’m sorry it took me a while.”

“A while as in two hours? Your time’s a bit different from mine, Mina.”, Nayeon answers with an annoyed and playful tone.

Mina’s hands then wander from her eyes down to her waist.

“Well, I was busy.”, she softly kisses Nayeon’s cheek to put her at ease. “What are you drinking?”

“Hmm… a margarita. I need some kick after helping out Seoyeon here. Anyway, I wanna see you.” Nayeon pulls away from her to turn around and gasps, “Baby, you look beautiful.”

Mina wears a blue dress that perfectly accentuates the shape of her body. This may just be Nayeon’s new favorite dress on her.

“Babe, come on. Let’s go.”, she grabs Nayeon’s hand and walks out of the venue.

“Wait, I need to talk to Seoyeon first. She might look for me after the event.”

“I already talked to her. She knows where we’re going.”

Nayeon stops Mina from walking away any further.

“Wait! When did you talk to her and _where_ are we going?!”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise anymore if I tell you. Your clothes are also already packed and we’re going to be gone for just a few days. I also paid for everything already.”, Mina explains.

“What?! Mina, this is absurd. We can’t just leave right away.”

Mina puts her hands on her waist and lets out a stern voice, “Im Nayeon,” It catches her girlfriend’s attention and shuts her up. “Just trust me on this.”

Nayeon nods and takes Mina’s hand to walk to the car, which she later finds out, that is driven by Jeongyeon. She drops them off at the airport to ride a private jet, which she also later finds out, that is owned by Mina’s family.

She doesn’t ask her any more questions but she just lets her do whatever she plans on doing because getting into an argument with Mina is the last thing she wants to have right now. Not when she’s looking majestic and _good_ in her dress.

She can’t help but take a slight squeeze on her bottom.

“Im Nayeon, your hands. Tame them. Or else, I will have to take you to the lavatory and both of us will come out with our makeups all over our faces. And I did not spend two hours getting ready for nothing.”, Mina threatens.

Nayeon obeys and laughs at how strict Mina is.

Mina knows that her dominant side is what turns her girlfriend on the most but for now, Nayeon has to control her libido.

She falls asleep and wakes up when they have landed. Mina wakes her with light kisses on her shoulder, nose, and lips.

“Baby, wake up. We’re here.”

She suddenly missed her dominant girlfriend.

“Are we in Jeju?!”, she shrieks.

Mina nods.

The flight steward places all of their stuff in the trunk of the car Mina has rented for their stay on the island.

She watches Mina give instructions to the steward and pilot in Japanese and they fly off.

“Baby, why are we in Jeju?! Holy crap, I wanna cry. I’m so happy, it has been years since we last came here.”

It’s almost midnight when they get to the hotel. Mina tells Nayeon to just wait by the lobby for her as she talks to the receptionist and the manager.

 _What is Mina planning?,_ she thinks, observing her girlfriend do the talking.

This is making her heart burst with so much excitement but at the same time, she can't help but feel nervous.

Mina comes back and holds her hand. She smiles, “Just follow me, babe, okay?”

They walk to the back of the hotel to get to the beachfront.

The view that Nayeon sees makes her eyes sting in so much happiness.

It’s a candlelit dinner prepared by the beach with pillows and a large picnic rug laid out on the sand. Flower petals are also scattered all over the ground for that romantic touch.

She covers her mouth in surprise and lets a tear roll down her cheek.

Mina walks on the sand barefoot and holds a bouquet of flowers, saying, “Happy anniversary, Im Nayeon.”

_Anniversary? Fuck._

Nayeon completely forgot about it. She was so pre-occupied with helping Seoyeon with the event that their anniversary totally slipped out of her mind. She takes off her heels and throws them in the sand to run and apologize to Mina.

“Babe, I’m so sorry. I completely forgot. I was so busy hel—“

Mina silences her with a kiss. “I understand. I know you were busy the past few days so I prepared this. Do you like it?”

“This tops off the previous surprises you’ve done so yes, I love it and I love you.”

Nayeon closes the gap between them and tilts her head a bit to deepen the kiss. It’s an urgent kiss telling Mina that everything she does is enough and that she will love her still whatever they do, wherever they may be.

They smile into the kiss and Mina is the first to speak.

“We should dig in and have a few drinks before the night ends.”

In the middle of eating, Mina takes out a velvet box.

For Nayeon, a velvet box could only mean one thing.

_An engagement ring? Is Mina going to propose? Fuck, this is… Ahh, I don’t know what to feel._

She drops her utensils and stares at the box. She stutters, “M-Mina, what is this?”

Mina smiles, “It’s my anniversary gift. Open it.” She slides the box to her.

She stares at it again and gulps before taking it. She exhales and opens it and it’s a pair of beautiful gold rings. A couple ring maybe?

“Is this a couple ring?”, she asks, taking the rings out.

“Yup, were you expecting something else?”, Mina chuckles.

Nayeon smirks and grabs a ring to place on her finger.

“Kind of? I thought it was an engagement ring.”

Mina stares at her with a loving smile and whispers, “We’ll get there someday.”

“I know.”, Nayeon responds in a whisper.

“Oh, you heard that?”

“Even if you have the softest voice, my ears are sharp when it comes to you.”

Mina rubs her arm.

“Getting married is a huge responsibility. It’s an entryway into starting a family so before we take it to another level, I want the both of us to be on the same page when it comes to responsibilities and all. I want it all to be perfect.”, she says, cupping Nayeon’s face, “I want everything to be perfect for you.”

Nayeon can’t help but tear up again. It’s been years since they’ve been together and until now, Mina’s love for her stays the same.

It just grows deeper day by day, like it’s enough to last a lifetime.

She stares into Mina’s eyes and smiles. In those warm beautiful orbs, she sees her future and her future is with Mina and nobody else so she grabs the other ring, thinking deeply about where to place it.

It’s a bold move but she doesn’t want to waste any precious moment with her. She holds onto the ring and gets down on one knee.

_This couple ring should work for now. I’ll just remind Jeongyeon to accompany me to buy Mina an actual engagement ring._

“Myoui Mina, I hope you know that every second I spend with you is perfect. Everyday, you learn and grow as a person and I'm happy I get to witness that and be a part of it. I am also honored to be on the receiving end of your love. We may fight and argue at times but at the end of the day, we can’t deny that our love is bigger than that.” Her girlfriend silently sobs. She continues, “I want to spend my entire life arguing with, growing with, and loving you. You put color into my then hell-of-a-life." She lets out a deep breath, "Will you spend the rest of your life with me, Mina?”

The sobbing girl in front of her lunges forward and she falls on her back.

“Yes, Im Nayeon. I will marry you.”

She lets go of Nayeon and lets her place the ring on her finger. She looks at the ring, the one that’s supposed to be a couple ring with her girlfriend but instead, it’s now her engagement ring.

The rest of the night is spent on the beach until Nayeon falls asleep.

Mina looks at her and smiles.

Who would’ve thought that five years ago, on this beautiful island of Jeju, she will meet the one for her? Then go through a lot of things for her? It was a rough and painful road but in the end, all of the pain they went through were worth it because being here now with the girl she loves is worth it.

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to all those who enjoyed Lightning in a Bottle. 
> 
> I'm currently working on a new fic and it's saida with some side ships (of course there's minayeon in it. everyone loves minayeon!!!) 
> 
> Here's the link if you want to read it: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27683572/


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